Who's Afraid of the --
by GeorgeAndrews
Summary: Big, Bad Wolf? Wicked Witch of the West? Headless Horseman? Basilisk? Dracula? Alien? Voldemort? Shelob? Frankenstein? Bloody Mary? Surely nothing scares fearless heroes Don Flack and Danny Messer? Some Hawkes and Adam too.
1. Prologue

A/N This one is supposed to be a bit of a laugh, tongue in cheek type thing. Also I've never been to America so have no idea of the geography around New York or what types of houses are typical.

* * *

Flack, Danny, Hawkes and Adam were all sat in the break room of the Crime Lab on a Wednesday morning In New York City. To anyone who dared enter the room for a coffee they were faced with four of the most miserable faces known to mankind. The day outside was humid and sticky and all four men were suffering from the heat. Not that it was hot in the lab, of course, it just happened that each of them had had rather a nasty experience due to the sun recently.

Tuesday had been Sheldon Hawkes' day off and he'd gone to the park with his girlfriend Camille for a picnic. They rarely ever had a day off together and this was to be a relaxing, romantic break for them. He'd planned it all down to the last detail; sandwiches, cakes, strawberries, champagne, a wicker basket, red and white checked cloth...it was going to be perfect. They'd arrived in the middle of the day, when the sun was at its peak and chosen a decent shady spot in a rather secluded area of the park so they would have a certain amount of privacy. Unfortunately neither of them had accounted for the unwanted guests that had arrived. Wasps. Wasps everywhere. Wasps enjoying the jam in the sandwiches, wasps enjoying the frosting on the cakes and wasps enjoying Hawkes' face which they had attacked when he'd tried to waft them away with his arms. He'd only received three stings but it was enough for his face to swell up like a balloon and they'd ended up spending the rest of their romantic day off together in the hospital. Hawkes was left with a swollen and aching face and a very foul mood indeed.

Danny Messer had spent the same day in the lab working hard on some evidence and had been pleased with the results. He'd single-handedly managed to crack the case that would put the killer behind bars for a very long time. He'd been in such a good mood when he got home that he'd had a nasty shock when the front door was violently opened before he'd even had a chance to turn the key in the lock. His wife stood in front of him, face grubby and blackened, hair all of a mess and a nasty smell coming from inside. After listening to her yell at him for forty minutes straight about how to be a responsible adult and how much of a dumbass he was, he managed to ascertain that a small fire had broken out in their apartment. Luckily it had been caught before anything had been destroyed, bar a couple of unlucky scientific journals that had been in the wrong place at the wrong time. However a large chunk of one of their lounge walls was now black and an awful 'burnt' smell hung around the whole place. The icing on the cake was when Lindsay informed him that it had been caused by a pair of glasses that had been left on the windowsill and the hot sun shining brightly through them had caught some papers on fire. Lindsay had promptly taken Lucy and gone to stay round his Ma's until he re-decorated the entire lounge and got rid of the smell. As he lay in bed alone that night, his good mood from earlier in the day had completely disappeared.

Adam Ross had spent the same Tuesday out at a scene listening and learning to hopefully qualify as a CSI soon. Jo had been with him but purely in a supervisory role while he did all the processing. Sweat rolled down his face and back as he worked in the heat and at one point he wondered if the awful stench that hung around them was actually him, rather than the dead body lying next to him. It had been a long, painstaking scene to work on, a lot of glass had been involved which needed to be collected up and then just as he was finishing Jo discovered another body in a dumpster in the alley he'd been working in. Whether the two deaths were connected or pure coincidence was anyone's guess at that point. It took him another two hours after that before he managed to finish up. Two hours which he spent in stinking garbage and boiling hot sunshine. Finally, however, he made it back to the lab and went for a cool shower and change of clothes. It was only when he stepped out of the shower and looked at himself in a mirror that he realised his face was bright red, almost puce with sun-burn and that he had two perfect white rings around his eyes from his shades. To top that he had a date tonight at a posh restaurant with his girlfriend Michelle. He was not in a good mood.

Don Flack had spent the whole of Tuesday questioning the tenants of an apartment block in a less-than-pleasant area of the city. It had started off alright with the first few actually being rather cooperative until one little old lady invited him in for a cup of tea. Never accept tea from little old ladies, he'd told himself afterwards, it only led to trouble. He'd sat in her musty smelling apartment being bored to death by stories of her son and whenever he tried to steer the conversation back to the dead man found in her building she'd somehow always manage to get it back to her boy. Then her cat had come into the room and that was it. Flack scarpered. After that, it all went downhill. He'd been spat on, sworn at, hit with a handbag (twice), had a screaming baby thrust into his arms, a dog peed on his leg, he'd been propositioned to join 'spanking time' by a man with rather questionable intentions and that wasn't even the worst of it. At one door the drunken teenager who answered had promptly thrown up all over his shirt. Flack nearly arrested him right there and then for assaulting a police officer. When he'd finally got to the last apartment the tenant had run out of the fire-escape and up onto the roof. Flack had raced after him, always annoyed when he had to run, and chased the kid over three rooftops and back down the stairs of a different building before he caught him. It hadn't specifically been the heat which had caused him his awful day but after returning to the precinct stinking of sweat, puke and urine and having all his fellow detectives laugh at him, he'd decided the heat made people do funny things. Yes, it was definitely the heat, and he was not a happy bunny.

"So has Lindsay forgiven you yet?" asked Hawkes as he clasped his hands tightly together, trying to refrain from scratching or touching any of his stings. They only hurt more if he touched them.

"Yeah, she'd cooled off by this morning and actually thought it was pretty funny. I gotta redecorate the whole place now otherwise she won't move back in," Danny replied.

"Ha," snorted Flack at the thought of Danny and DIY.

"Dunno why you're laughing, Flack, cos you'll be helping me," Danny glared.

"What?" Flack asked, immediately dropping his laughter.

"You owe me for that time I helped you move into your new place," Danny stated matter-of-factly.

Flack groaned and banged his head on the table where he let it rest.

"So how much of your stuff got destroyed?" asked Hawkes, staring at the top of Flack's head.

"Not much. Just a few books and papers," grumbled Danny.

"And your glasses," Flack added, speaking into the table top.

Danny sighed and pulled his glasses out of his shirt pocket. They weren't exactly burnt, more of warped and disfigured.

"They were my only pair and now I gotta wear my contacts all the time or be blind. My new pair won't be ready for a week!" he whinged. "I think that's why Linds found the whole thing so funny."

"Dare you to put them on," Flack said suddenly as he sat back up and stared at Danny.

Danny turned his nose up at Flack in defiance and immediately placed the warped frames on his nose. He did look rather funny with them on and his eyes appeared gigantic behind the glass. Flack sniggered but the other two men kept silent. Neither of them were really feeling the mood for fun and jokes.

"Funny how something as small as a pair of glasses can ruin so many people's days," Adam mused aloud.

"Didn't you put any sun block on?" asked Danny incredulously.

"For the a millionth time, no. I didn't realise it was going to be such a sweltering day and I was focusing on not messing up so much, I kinda didn't realise how strong the sun was!" Adam said irritably.

"How'd your date go then?" asked Flack.

"Hmmm..." Adam hummed nervously.

"Hmmm?" prompted Hawkes.

"Michelle couldn't stop laughing at me so I went home," Adam said grumpily.

"You just left her at the restaurant?" scoffed Hawkes.

"Her laughing was making it worse. People were staring!" Adam excused.

"Can't believe you just left her there, man," said Hawkes, shaking his head.

"Oh, cos your date went so well," Adam retorted.

Hawkes immediately blushed, not that anyone could tell due to his already red face, and he clasped his hands tighter. "I err...well..."

"You did spend the whole day in the hospital. Mmm so romantic," chuckled Danny.

"Yeah, isn't Camille a nurse? Doesn't she work at the hospital?" joined in Flack.

"Hey, I was injured, guys, not just embarrassed like sun-burn here," Hawkes defended, shooting Adam a look.

"Aww by a couple of buzzy bees?" sniggered Flack.

"Wasp stings can kill actually," Hawkes said seriously.

"Or make you look like the elephant man..." mumbled Flack under his breath. Hawkes glared at him as best he could considering his swollen features.

"Still can't believe you spent your day off together at her work," Danny muttered.

"Hey, do you guys smell that?" Adam said suddenly, interrupting the conversation.

"Don't look at me," Danny replied quickly. "I made sure I showered in the lab when I got in this morning and I'm wearing the clothes I keep in my locker. I officially do not smell of burnt!"

"Yeah, but there's something," Adam persisted.

"Yeah, I can smell it too," Hawkes agreed. "Don't worry, Danny, it doesn't smell like bonfires," he added when the other CSI glared at him.

All four men paused and sniffed the air. There was indeed a very strange smell surrounding them in the break room. Ever so slowly, three heads turned to stare at Flack who blushed almost as red as Adam's sunburn.

"Alright, it's me. I know. It's this damn dog pee, I can't get rid of it," he moaned.

"Flack, man. You need to wash," Danny stated wisely.

Flack looked at him sourly. "I did. I showered like ten times and had to chuck away my jeans and new boots. But I think it musta soaked through, like into my skin or something, cos it just won't go away."

For the first time all three men laughed loudly at Flack who looked rather irritated by them.

"Look, it's bad enough all the guys at the station are calling me 'Detective Dog-pee' now, I don't need it from you as well," he glared at them.

"Detective Dog-pee," sniggered Danny hysterically. "I'll remember that one."

Flack scowled at him angrily.

"Sorry, man, it's just so funny," Hawkes laughed.

"Yeah, says the scientist who's scared of a couple of bees, the one who sets his own apartment on fire with his glasses and the one who looks like a damn tomato," Flack growled.

Immediately their faces dropped and all four men sat in miserable silence again.

Lindsay smiled to herself as she walked into the breakroom and noticed the four unhappy faces, two of which were bright red.

"It's Pinky and Perky," she laughed, "times two!"

Four angry looks were cast her way and she hurriedly left the room, deciding she could go a bit longer without coffee.

"You need to tell your wife she's not funny," Flack ground out.

"Like she listens to me," Danny moaned back.

"Whipped," muttered Flack under his breath.

"What did you say?" asked Danny, temper flaring.

"Hey guys, chill," Adam said nervously.

"Not even funny, Adam," Hawkes sighed.

"Yeah, how're we supposed to chill in this heat? I can't even sleep," Flack whined.

"Nightmares again?" snorted Danny, teasing Flack again to rid himself of his bad mood.

"I don't have nightmares," Flack informed them all.

"Oh yeah? What about the spiders?" asked Danny knowingly, waggling his fingers at Flack and laughing as a shiver ran through the taller man's frame.

"They can kill you, you said so yourself!" Flack retorted.

"I can't believe you're scared of spiders, Flack," laughed Hawkes.

"At least I'm not scared of ghosts, science-guy!" Flack replied, smiling happily.

"What?!" cried Adam and Danny at the same time.

"Yeah. Me, Jo and Hawkes were out on a case a few years back and Hawkes here says ghosts did it and that he gets spooked cycling in the park at night!" laughed Flack loudly, his bad mood forgotten.

"Ghosts? Really, Hawkes?" Danny chuckled.

"Some things you just can't explain," Hawkes reasoned, shrugging his shoulders.

"Nah," said Danny in fits of laughter, shaking his head.

"Lindsay told me you were scared of snakes, Danny," Adam said quietly, not wanting to be left out of the teasing.

Flack and Hawkes both stared at Danny for a second and then simultaneously burst out into more laughter.

"Considering you just teased us about spiders and ghosts, snakes is just as bad, Mess," Flack stated.

"Oh yeah, well I believe you're scared of ghosts too, Flack," Danny grinned. "I remember Stella telling me you wouldn't go into some monastery without her cos you were scared of ghosts. She mentioned something about holding your hand..."

Flack immediately stopped laughing and looked embarrassed.

"Woah, so now it all comes out. Big, bad Detective Flack is scared of ghosts and spiders. List just keeps on getting longer," Hawkes laughed.

"You can add coyotes to it as well," Danny chipped in causing even more laughter among everyone except Flack.

"Hey! Okay, so maybe spooky old buildings get me a little nervous, and spiders and coyotes are just dangerous!" Flack said seriously. "But I'm no science guy, you lot shouldn't be scared of anything!"

"I'm not," squeaked Adam.

All three men rolled their eyes at the timid man. "You're scared of everything," Hawkes pointed out.

"And we all remember the incident with the aliens," Flack added.

"I believe in aliens, I'm not scared of them," Adam stated.

All three men pondered in silence for a while at what Adam could possibly be scared of before Danny suddenly had an idea. It was so obvious really.

"You're scared of Mac."

Hawkes, Flack and Danny all burst out laughing at the smaller man's discomfort.

Walking past the breakroom, Lindsay smiled to herself at the laughter she heard. "Well it's about time," she muttered to herself.

* * *

A/N In case anyone is interested in references for the facts of who is scared of what in the chapter:-

1x15 Til Death Do We Part – Aiden and Stella tease Flack that he's scared of ghosts when he won't go into a supposedly haunted building without them.

2x03 Zoo York and 5x03 Turbulence - I'm assuming everyone knows this but both episodes mention Flack being allergic to cats. Meow!

7x08 Scared Stiff– Hawkes says he thinks ghosts could be responsible for the victim's death and then details some examples of ghostly experiences, including his own. Flack and Jo are amused by him.

7x08 Scared Stiff – Whilst walking through the park Flack is concerned about 'the spiders' and Danny teases Flack that he's scared of 'itty-bitty spiders'. They both discuss how coyotes are dangerous.

8x13 The Ripple Effect– Danny is scared of snakes and jumps about on the ground in panic when Lindsay tells him he's standing next to one. She calls him a city boy.

9x06 The Lady in the Lake - Adam believes in aliens and spends the whole episode convinced he has found proof of them, which he hasn't.


	2. Chapter 1

A/N – Hope you all enjoyed May Day bank holiday! To celebrate here's another chapter! This is where the story starts to get a bit tongue-in-cheek.

* * *

By the time Flack and Danny had been called away by Mac to go and question a suspect they were still chuckling to themselves at Adam's fear of their boss. It wasn't as bad as it had been when he'd first started working there but it had still caused some hilarious situations in the lab. Danny explained a few of them to Flack as they drove north out of the city.

"You know what? I don't even feel grumpy anymore," Flack said as he concentrated on the road.

"Me neither," hummed Danny happily as he glanced at his best friend. "Though I still can't believe you're scared of ghosts. I can understand the spiders thing, but ghosts? I mean, really?"

"It's not like I believe in them, Mess. I just don't like unexplained things and when you get mysterious calls and static in a spooky old building repeatedly over the years it creeps me out."

"I dunno, Flack. You kinda sound like a big baby to me," Danny laughed.

"Whatever, Mess. You just be careful or I might buy a snake and hide it in your locker. Or maybe Lucy would like one from her favourite Uncle Don as a pet?"

"In which case you just wait until you have kids and then Uncle Danny will be buying them all big hairy tarantulas for their birthdays. I hear they sometimes feast on your blood while you're sleeping! " Danny teased light-heartedly.

"That's not funny, Messer," Flack stated, suddenly quite serious.

Danny chuckled and wondered why Flack could never take a joke when it came to things he was scared of.

"I wonder what Mac is scared of," he mused aloud.

"He's allergic to blueberries," Flack informed him.

Danny snorted and grinned. "That doesn't mean he's scared of them, Flack!"

Flack looked over at him sheepishly as he turned off the highway.

"God, it's still so hot," Danny moaned, changing the subject. "I can't get over it."

Flack sniggered. "You moan when it's too cold, you moan when it's too hot...thought you were supposed to be Italian anyway?"

"What d'ya mean, supposed? I am!" Danny scorned.

Flack shrugged as he watched the road in front of him slowly become less and less urbanised.

"Although it's not like I've been to Italy," Danny added quietly, causing Flack to smile.

"Real European there, Mess."

"Oh, shut-up, Detective Dog-pee..." Danny giggled.

Flack glanced at him, frowning. "Is it still bad?" he asked self-consciously.

"Nah. Not as bad as what Hawkes and Adam look like," the CSI replied, smirking.

"Never realised stings could do that to you," Flack muttered. "Remind me never to go on a picnic...ever. No matter how pretty she is."

"And Adam with his panda eyes," sniggered Danny.

"Panda what?" frowned Flack.

"Yeah, you know. Like when you get white rings round your eyes from wearing shades in the sun while the rest of your face has tanned? Or when girls get their black make-up all smudged around their eyes, like if they've slept in it, it's called panda eyes," Danny informed him knowledgably.

"You so need to hang out with me more, Mess," Flack said, worrying for his friend's masculinity.

"Yeah...maybe when you've washed again..." Danny murmured.

They sat in silence for some minutes while the sun beat down at them through the car windows, making them get the feeling of roasting in an oven. Flack suddenly found himself sympathising with a lobster, being cooked alive, that sure was a way to go...and then he shook the thought from his head. Weird, sympathising with food.

"Hey, are you going the right way?" Danny interrupted.

Flack scowled at him. "Course I'm going the right way!"

Danny rolled his eyes. Flack was very territorial when it came to his car and driving. Something to do with trying to be the alpha male, Danny mused. Not that he was. Between the two of them Danny was definitely the alpha, definitely. Flack was a little scaredy cat, he chuckled to himself.

"Well it looks to me like you've got us to the middle of nowhere!" he stated. He knew it'd wind up Flack, but he was bored and the journey had been long.

"Middle of..." spluttered Flack as if it were the most preposterous thing in the world. "I'll have you know, Messer, at this point in time we are exactly where I intended us to be."

Danny stifled a laugh. "Oh? And where's that then, Flack?"

Flack shot him an angry look before his face relaxed and he began to look rather sheepish. "Nowhere," he admitted.

Danny laughed loudly and the sound quickly filled the car. "Lost!" he giggled.

"Look, it says we're in the right place on the SatNav," Flack said irritably.

"You know better than to rely on those things, Flack. Sure they're fine in the big city, but when you get out to the sticks things get weird. Too many strange country tracks that lead to nowhere."

"Well I... AHA!" Flack shouted in delight as a large house loomed up in the distance. "That's it!"

"That's it?" Danny repeated unconvinced, sure that Flack had only said that as it was the only house they'd seen in the last half hour.

"Yeah. Mac said the house would be old," Flack stated as he looked round at his friend, a distinctly chuffed expression on his face.

"There's old and then there's old," Danny said sceptically, still doubting Flack's sense of direction. "Who are we supposed to be seeing anyway?"

"Elizabeth Caudwell, she's ninety-two years old," Flack informed him.

"Ninety-two and she lives out here? How the hell does she do her shopping?" Danny wondered aloud.

"Delivery," Flack stated as though he thought Danny were an idiot.

"She has to be able to use the internet to get a delivery," Danny retorted.

"So?" Flack said.

"Ninety-two year olds do not use the internet," Danny stated matter-of-factly.

"My Grandma does," Flack retorted, even though his Grams was far from ninety-two.

"Your Grandma's just scary," Danny said in all seriousness.

Flack smirked and pulled up outside the gateway to the house. He wound down the window and both he and Danny searched for a number or name to be sure they were actually in the right place.

"Nowhere," muttered Danny in an irritated voice.

"Getting tired, Mess," Flack warned.

"No, look," Danny said, whacking Flack lightly on the arm with the back of his hand. "The house, it's called 'Nowhere'."

"Oh-ho," Flack laughed sarcastically. "A joker, I see."

"Be nice. She's a little old lady," Danny warned.

"Hmph," Flack replied as he turned into the driveway. He drove for a few yards until the driveway was suddenly blocked by overgrown plants and trees. Clearly Mrs Caudwell did not employ a gardener.

"What the hell?" Flack frowned.

"Looks like we're walking the rest of the way, buddy," Danny said.

"Great," muttered Flack.

He turned off the engine and they both got out, walking to the edge of the densely packed undergrowth.

"How the hell does anyone live in there?" asked Flack incredulously.

"I dunno," shrugged Danny. "You sure this is it?"

"Well did you see any other houses?" snapped Flack, gesturing wildly around them with a hand.

"Sorry," Danny defended, raising his hands to ward off the detective's temper.

"Maybe we should just go back," grouched Flack.

"And tell Mac what exactly?" Danny asked.

"Errr...we could tell him no-one was in?"

"And drive all the way out here again tomorrow?"

"That she died?" suggested Flack timidly.

"Oh, man up, Flack. It's not that bad," Danny moaned as he stepped towards the trees and pushed his way through them.

Flack sighed and unwillingly dragged his feet after Danny. "I hate nature."

"So do I," agreed Danny. He jumped when he placed a hand on a tree and whatever was underneath moved.

"What?" Flack asked warily, stopping immediately when he saw Danny jump.

"Err...nothing. Come on," Danny said hurriedly.

Flack snickered behind him. "Aww, did poor little Messer see a snake?"

"Shut it, Flack," snapped Danny. "Otherwise the first damn spider we come across I'm throwing at you."

Flack's laughter ceased immediately and he paused again behind Danny. After a while Danny realised Flack wasn't following and turned round to look at him.

"What?" he asked impatiently.

Flack's eyes were wide and child-like as he stared seriously at his best friend. "You wouldn't really throw a spider at me, would you Danno?" he asked softly.

Danny shook his head in despair. "Come on, Flack," he muttered and turned back to the task at hand.

Flack eyed his companion warily for a moment before continuing on, though he kept well back from Danny.

"So why are we seeing this lady?" asked Danny after some time.

"Mac found her son's fingerprints all over the crimescene. Denzel Caudwell, he did some time for robbery ten years ago. However he's in the wind now. Last known address is now lived in by the Smicer family who have no connection to him, he has no car, no credit cards. He doesn't even have a bank account."

"Like a ghost," Danny mused as he turned to grin behind him at Flack.

Flack shot him a sour look.

"So we think he's holed up at his mom's place?" Danny asked, laughing.

"Well we did think that," Flack replied. "I'm beginning to get the feeling that might not be the case."

Danny nodded his head in agreement. "No-one has come through here in a very long time."

"Maybe there's a back entrance?" suggested Flack hopefully.

"Or maybe we're hiking through the undergrowth, on a boiling hot day, surrounded by snakes and spiders and God knows what else, on our way to a house called Nowhere, that no-one probably lives in!"

"Hey, I suggested going back," Flack reminded him.

"Yeah, and I suggest you stop being a big ol'scaredy cat."

Before Flack could reply they both burst out of the shrubbery onto a well kept lawn surrounded by beautiful flowers and plants. A grand old house loomed ominously in front of them giving away no sign of life. The windows were clouded with grime and dust, ivy and other such plants completely covered most of it and it generally looked rather run down. The bricks and mortar were chipped and cracked, strange ornaments that adorned the outside had lost heads or limbs and bits of old stone and glass littered the ground surrounding it.

"This is so creepy," Flack muttered as he started to cross the freshly mowed lawn, looking about as he did so.

"Yeah," Danny agreed. "How the hell is this garden so beautiful and well kept when the house and driveway look like no-one's been here in years?"

Flack shrugged in response as he walked and then suddenly halted, causing Danny to almost bang into him.

"What?" he muttered angrily.

Flack nervously fidgeted with his hands. "Hey, you don't...you don't..."

"Don't what, Flack?" Danny asked wearily.

"You don't think she's a witch, do you?"

Danny stared in silence at his friend before he burst out into raucous laughter. Flack looked slightly offended.

"I can't believe you just said that!" Danny giggled. "I'm so telling Hawkes and Adam when we get back. Something else to add to the list."

Flack frowned crossly at him. "It's not funny, Mess. A little old lady, big spooky house, weird magic garden..."

"Someone's been watching too much Harry Potter," giggled Danny.

"Harry who?" Flack asked irritated, as he started walking again.

"Nevermind," Danny said, still laughing. Flack was obviously much more superstitious than he liked to let on.

They approached the front entrance and walked up the few steps that led to it. Looking back at the garden they both realised that you would never be able to tell that a huge mess of undergrowth and trees lay just beyond the Rhododendrons lining the garden. Danny noticed a rusty, brass bell-pull next to the door and yanked on it. Nothing happened.

"Here, Mess. Let a real man try," Flack jibed and yanked on it himself.

A loud clang rang loudly somewhere within the depths of the house and both men shivered slightly. They'd have blamed the wind, but there was none on this sweltering day.

"I bet she has a cat," Flack moaned as they waited. "Little old ladies always have cats."

Danny shook his head smirking and then suddenly the door was opened. A sweet old lady with twinkling eyes looked back at them. She smiled delightedly when she saw them.

"Why hello dears, you're a bit off the beaten track," she said.

"Mrs Caudwell?" Flack asked.

"Yes?" she said questioningly.

Flack and Danny pulled out their badges to show her as Flack continued to speak. "I'm Detective Flack and this is Detective Messer with the NYPD. I was wondering if we might have a word?"

The old lady frowned slightly as she looked at their badges. "Oh dear, I hope I'm not in any trouble. You better come in."

She opened the door wider and the two men stepped over the threshold into the house. The darkness within easily swallowing them up and they found themselves in a long, dim hallway that smelt of must and mould. A huge staircase twisted up to the first floor and from where they were, they couldn't see the top.

"Woah," murmured Flack under his breath, which he could see before him. The house was freezing, icily cold and quite a shock after being out in the heat for so long. He shivered and wished he'd worn a jacket now.

"Follow me, detectives," Mrs Caudwell said and walked off down a corridor and round the corner. She was really quite nimble for a lady of her age. Flack and Danny followed her, exchanging glances as they went. She led them into a sitting room where three squashy, pink couches surrounded a fire that was burning brightly.

"I don't remember seeing any smoke from a chimney," murmured Danny to Flack as they went in.

"Do have a seat," Mrs Caudwell offered and she gestured to one of the couches.

The two men approached the couch and Flack shivered again. The fire was giving off no heat at all and he frowned in confusion. He jumped when something scooted out from under the couch and disappeared through the doorway they'd just come in through.

"What the..."

"Don't mind Prince Patrick, he doesn't like strangers," the old lady said, looking fondly at the doorway.

"Prince Patrick?" mouthed Flack to Danny who shrugged in response.

"My cat," Mrs Caudwell explained as she noticed their confusion.

Flack rolled his eyes at Danny and promptly sneezed. Danny thought he put it on sometimes. The CSI sat down on the couch and looked round the room. It was full of odds and ends and trinkets that were crammed into every available space. An empty bird cage stood in one corner and a dust covered piano in another. Books were stacked carelessly about them and strange little objects and ornaments looked down on them from high upon the shelves. What creeped Danny out the most were all the stuffed animals that decorated the room. Birds, foxes, cats, dogs, toads, squirrels, mice and even what could have been a weasel or a stoat.

"My pets," said the old lady fondly as she followed his gaze.

"I'm sorry, what?" Flack asked rather bluntly as he sat down next to Danny.

"My pets. I stuff them myself."

Flack's eyes widened and he mouthed, "unbelievably creepy," to Danny when she wasn't looking.

"Now my dears, I must offer you some tea," she said, going towards another door.

"Oh no, that's quite okay," Danny said quickly, glancing at Flack who looked distinctly uncomfortable at being offered tea by another little old lady.

"No bother, no bother," she smiled. "I'm sorry, what did you say your name was, dear?"

"Detective Messer," Danny replied.

The old lady shook her head. "Speak up, dear. My hearing's not what it used to be. Jester?"

Flack snorted in laughter.

"Messer," Danny repeated, only louder.

"Oh dear. I'm really no good with names. Dresser?"

Danny could hear Flack next to him trying hard not to burst out laughing.

"No, Messer," Danny almost shouted.

"Fester?"

Danny gave up. "Just call me Danny."

"Okay Fanny. I'll just go and get the tea."

She disappeared from the room and Flack let out a laugh. "Fanny Dresser!" he choked in glee.

"Shut up, Dog-pee," Danny moaned.

Flack stopped laughing and leant back on the couch. "Still think she's not a witch?"

"Some people have alternative lifestyles, Flack."

Flack wasn't impressed. "Pets that she stuffed herself? This is so way past alternative, it's bordering on insane."

"You gotta be more open-minded, Flack. I like her."

"You just like her cos she keeps staring at you. She's barely even looked at me."

"Ooo, jealous, Flack?"

"Not a bit."

The two men looked around the room some more and Flack's eyes rested on the fire. "Hey Mess, why's the fire not giving off any heat?"

Danny frowned at it. "Okay, that is a little weird. Maybe the air in the house is so cold it's taking up all the heat before it reaches us."

"Or maybe, she's a witch," Flack said sensibly.

Danny snorted at him.

"Here's the tea," Mrs Caudwell announced as she reappeared back in the room with a tray and wobbled to the table to put it down. "Do help yourselves, Annie and?" she stared at Flack.

"Detective Don Flack," Flack replied as clearly as he could.

"Tom Crack," she smiled sweetly, nodding.

Flack sighed impatiently. "No, Don Flack.

"John Snack?"

Flack could hear Danny laughing and he supposed he deserved it after laughing at Danny when he'd received the same treatment.

"Don Flack," Flack shouted so loudly that even Danny jumped.

The old lady stared at him in some distaste before speaking again. "Nice rack? I do know what that means, dear, and I think it's quite inappropriate for you to be saying that to a lady of my age."

Danny was almost crying from trying so hard not to laugh.

Flack sighed wearily and shook his head. "Whatever," he muttered.

Mrs Caudwell turned to look at Danny and smiled fondly at him. "Sammy, help yourself to tea, dear."

"Thank you, Mrs Caudwell," Danny replied grinning as he leant forward and poured himself a cup.

"Call me Elizabeth," she said warmly.

"Elizabeth," Danny nodded.

"Ron Quack, you may have some tea too," Elizabeth said as she turned and scowled at the detective.

"Uh, I'm okay, Elizabeth," Flack excused. No way was he accepting more tea from a little old lady.

"Mrs Caudwell," she corrected him, "And you will have some tea."

When Flack didn't move Danny dug a sharp elbow into his side and Flack squeaked before hurriedly pouring himself a cup too.

"Now what can I help you with, Sammy?"

Danny grinned at her. "We were wondering if you had heard from your son recently?"

"Denny?" My lovely Denny?" Elizabeth asked.

"Yes. We wanted to speak to him concerning an incident and were wondering if you knew his whereabouts?" Danny asked.

"Of course I do," Elizabeth laughed. "He's upstairs."

"Good. Can we talk to him?" Flack asked.

Elizabeth stared at him like he was an idiot. "Of course you can't talk to him," she said.

Flack opened his mouth to bite out a sarcastic response but was silenced by another sharp elbow from Danny. Flack decided it was probably best for Danny to do the talking anyway.

"It's very important we speak with him, Elizabeth," Danny explained.

"I speak with him every day, Sammy," Elizabeth smiled. "He'd such a good boy. Always does what he's told for his mommy."

"Perhaps you can ask him to come down and talk to us then?" Danny suggested hopefully.

"Oh, Denzel can't walk," Elizabeth said as though that were obvious.

Danny glanced at Flack and knew they were thinking the same thing. If Denzel couldn't walk then how did his fingerprints get all over the bedroom of a dead girl? Something was off here.

"We believe he was involved in a crime that happened early this morning in New York City, Elizabeth. It is imperative that we speak to him about this. He might be able to help us find the perpetrator," Danny tried to explain once again.

"You look like my Denny, Danny," she said as her eyes looked him over.

Danny smiled brightly at Flack as she finally got his name right. Flack looked bad-tempered as ever.

"So handsome, he is. Beautiful blue eyes just like you."

Danny blushed slightly and suddenly wished he was wearing his glasses to detract from his eyes, the malformed frames were still in his top pocket. Flack scowled. He'd seen the mugshot of Denzel Caudwell that Mac had shown him and Danny didn't look a thing like him. This lady was delusional...or a witch.

"Look lady, we need to speak to your son. Now either you can go and get him yourself, or we will," Flack said gruffly, rudely placing his untouched cup of tea back down on the tray.

If looks could kill then Elizabeth was murdering Flack right there and then. "I don't like your tone, Detective Quack," she said severely. "My son has never done a thing wrong in his life."

"He did time ten years ago for burglary," Flack stated.

"No he didn't," Elizabeth replied.

Flack frowned. He didn't understand what this lady was trying to do. He knew Denzel had done time, it was on his record. He glanced at Danny who shrugged at him, equally as stumped.

"Yes he did, lady. Now chop-chop, let's go speak to him," Flack said as he stood up.

All of a sudden something dark and sharp appeared from high on the bookcase and jumped at Flack's face. He shrieked as he felt his skin tearing and fell back on the sofa. He heard Danny scuffling with whatever-it-was and Elizabeth speaking loudly and then all of a sudden he could breathe again.

"What the hell was that?" he shouted, looking round the room. His eyes immediately settled on the black cat now curled up on Elizabeth's lap.

"Oh shit," he moaned as he sneezed loudly. He raised a hand to his cheek and when he brought it to his eye he saw a small amount of blood there. "That damn animal tried to kill me!"

"Prince Patrick did nothing of the kind. He was just defending me. He doesn't like it when people are rude!"

Flack opened his mouth to reply but sneezed instead. His eyes were watering now and he knew that if he didn't leave soon and rinse his face off it'd start to swell up and he wouldn't be able to see a damn thing.

"Do you have a bathroom I could use?" he ground out with a forced smile.

Elizabeth smiled sweetly at him. "Through this door and down the hallway to the end," she said gesturing to a different door to the one they'd come in through. "Turn right and take the third door on the far left. Go through that room to the door with the green circle and then follow the corridor until you get to the moon door. Turn left and it's the far door on the right hand side."

Flack stared in confusion for a moment before nodding and leaving the room, slightly relieved to escape the woman's glare. Now he just had to find the bathroom...

* * *

A/N – I imagine Elizabeth Caudwell to look like the old lady that Danny and Flack question in 6x16 Uncertainty Rules.


	3. Chapter 2

Warning! - From now on there will be swearing including the 'F' word.

A/N - Just wanted to say thank you so much to all those who have reviewed this story. It really means a lot that you guys take the time to do so and it is very appreciated.

Characters may appear slightly less IC from now on as things take a darker turn and they find themselves in situations that would simply not happen on the show, but then, that is kinda the point of this fic.

* * *

Flack wondered hopelessly through the hallways and corridors of the house before finally finding a small toilet with a sink in it. He wasn't entirely sure it was the one he'd been directed to but it would make do for his purposes. He splashed the icy water over his face and immediately felt it cooling down. That had been a close one. Why did old ladies always have to have a cat? Probably cos she's a witch, he answered himself. Flack sighed and shook his head, glancing up at his reflection in the grimy mirror. He shook his head at the state he was in. Something of a combination of hot and sweaty from the heat outside and icy cold from the house had caused him to look very pale but with red splotches all over his face, not to mention the long scratch mark on his left cheek. Flack sighed again and guessed he better be getting back to that deaf old bat who seemed to have taken quite a dislike towards him for no particular reason that he could fathom.

He stepped back out into the corridor and made his way back the way he came. Everywhere he looked the place seemed to have a sense of faded grandeur. As though once, a very long time ago, it would have been a very beautiful and splendid place to live. Now it just seemed run down and uncared for. In every room the paint was chipped and cracked and the wallpaper was discoloured and peeling away from the walls. The floor and furniture were covered in thick dust and he left shoeprints in his wake. Strange objects from the past, that Flack couldn't identify, littered the place. In one room he peeked into stacks and stacks of books were piled up so high that he could barely get the door open two inches. In another, more dead animals decorated the walls in glass cases and stared down at him with their beady eyes. Flack shivered and got the hell out of that room quickly. Each room he looked into was either weirdly empty, devoid of anything at all, or else housed strange and exotic collections of items that Flack hadn't a clue as to what they were. He'd been walking for about fifteen minutes before he realised he completely and utterly lost in the warren of hallways and corridors that seemed to make up this strange old house.

He'd come to a halt in an old kitchen styled in the way of costume dramas that Flack had been forced to watch when he was a kid by his sister and grandmother. God, did his Grams love those Jane Austen ones! Flack scolded himself for remembering the name of the author and made a mental note to make sure Messer never, ever found out about that. It was immediately apparent that Mrs Caudwell had not come down here to make the tea which meant there was at least one other kitchen somewhere in the house, and he was now well and truly lost. He frowned when his eyes set upon something very interesting. A small staircase led up from the corner of the room, most likely the one the servants had used back in the day. This was his opportunity. He could sneak upstairs briefly, search for Denzel Caudwell and get some answers out of him if he was there. Flack knew he was taking a bit of a chance, Danny was probably wondering where the hell he was by now. Still, if he was caught he'd just say he'd got lost. After all, it was pretty much the truth. He took the chance. Flack crept up the staircase and found himself facing a white painted door. He creaked it open and stepped into the next room. It was a long, thin corridor that led through many twists and turns before Flack finally found himself standing on the landing of the great staircase that descended down to the entrance hall. The hall looked much larger from higher up although it was no warmer upstairs than it had been on the ground floor. So much for heat rising, Flack thought to himself. Still, at least he knew where he was now. All he had to do was find Denzel, cuff and arrest him, and then get the hell out of this creep-fest of a house.

* * *

Danny smiled politely at Mrs Caudwell, embarrassed by Flack's rudeness to her.

"More tea, dear?" she offered.

"Uh, no. I'm good," Danny replied. He glanced round the room, trying to think of a way to get her to bring her son downstairs. Flack was probably going to have a poke about upstairs anyway.

"So when was Denzel last in the city?" Danny asked, prying the old lady for information.

"Oh, he hasn't been to the city in years. He never goes there anymore."

Danny was starting to get annoyed, her answers just didn't add up to what they already knew. "Well perhaps you know where he was around 1am this morning?"

Elizabeth looked at him as though he were a little mad. "Upstairs. He's always upstairs. He doesn't leave his room much nowadays. Except for when he helps me with my work. He likes to help his mommy."

Maybe Freud was right, Danny thought to himself and made a face. "You have a very interesting house, Elizabeth," he said, hoping to get some answers as to why it was so cold and why she had a fire that produced no heat and no smoke.

"Why, thank you, Denny."

"It's Danny," he muttered.

"Oh yes, that's right," she said, twinkling her eyes.

Danny suddenly felt a shiver down his spine. Flack was right, Elizabeth Caudwell was a little creepy.

"You're garden's nice too," he said frowning. "Very...errr...tidy."

"The garden is extremely important to my work. It brings me all kinds of friends and pets for me to use. I spend a lot of time keeping it in perfect condition for that reason."

Danny frowned, not entirely sure what she meant. "What work is it that you do?"

"Many different kinds."

She was being deliberately evasive. Not that he really cared. Her work didn't have anything to do with her son or why they were there.

"So, um, how long have you had your cat?" Danny asked conversationally when he couldn't think of anything else to say. She kept staring at him and he was becoming unnerved by it.

"Prince Patrick? Oh he's been with me for thirty-five years now."

"Oh right," Danny nodded. Stupid old woman had obviously got her dates wrong. Cats didn't live that long.

"You must meet Robert as well. He's just the most adorable thing...and intelligent too," she smiled.

"Oh, um, that's really okay...I should probably..."

But Mrs Caudwell was already up, having gently ushered Prince Patrick to the floor. She disappeared from the room and Danny eyed the cat nervously. It looked mightily pissed off and for one moment Danny thought it might attack him like it had attacked Flack, but then it turned and stalked from the room, tail high in the air. Danny breathed a sigh of relief and leant back against the couch, wondering why Flack still hadn't returned. He looked up when he heard a noise but it was just Mrs Caudwell returning with a fluffy, sandy coloured bunny rabbit in her arms.

"Here's Robert," she smiled. "He's ever so friendly."

The old lady thrust the rabbit into Danny's lap and he sat awkwardly holding it.

"Oh, it's... he's lovely," Danny muttered, his mouth worked into a fake smile.

He looked down at the bunny. It was quite small and had the most curiously blue eyes that he'd ever seen on a rabbit.

"I breed rabbits," Elizabeth informed him. "Robert was in a litter of five but he was the only one to make the cut."

"What happened to the others?" Danny asked nervously. "Are they...did you..." he glanced at the stuffed animals around the room.

"Oh no," she laughed. "I made some nice pies."

Danny grimaced and felt rather sick. He wished Flack would return so they could get out of there quickly. To hell with Denzel Caudwell.

* * *

Pausing at the top of the grand stairs, Flack looked both ways before setting off to his right and opening the first door he came to. Inside was a vast, dust covered room that was completely empty. Flack closed the door and moved on to the next one. This room was full of various pieces of furniture covered in dust sheets. Flack sighed as he closed the door; this was not going to be easy. A third door revealed a rather magnificent bedroom with a four poster bed sat in the middle of the far wall. It loomed over the rest of the room and after a quick glance about Flack decided Denzel was definitely not in there and moved on. It was only then that his eyes came to rest on a much smaller door in the corner of the hallway. It looked like one of those secret doors that were supposed to camouflage in with the walling, only on this occasion the wear and tear of the place made it very noticeable. Flack went over and, on opening it, was faced with a long, narrow corridor, devoid of any furniture or windows. The walls were mahogany-panelled all the way down and one solitary light crackled overhead, the dimness making it difficult to see the other end of the corridor clearly. Flack supposed he had nothing to lose and padded down to the end, feeling slightly claustrophobic, and pulled open the door he found there. He frowned at what he saw. Another corridor, exactly the same as the one he was standing in, lay behind it.

"Déjà Vu or what?" Flack muttered as he proceeded down the second corridor and opened the next door.

"What the hell?"

Another identical corridor faced him.

"This broad needs to redecorate," Flack said shaking his head. "Or move."

He walked down the third corridor and sighed briefly before yanking open the door at the end as though a surprise might be waiting for him on the other side. There wasn't. Another corridor, exactly the same as the first three lay in front of him.

"This is getting ridiculous," Flack muttered.

He mused over his options and decided this wasn't really worth his bother. He'd go back and talk to the silly old woman downstairs and if she didn't give up her son then he'd go back to the city and get a warrant to search this whole place. He'd come back with a whole troop of officers and sniffer dogs and then she'd have no option but to obey him. He turned around and walked back down the corridor he'd just come from, then down the next one and the one after that. He opened the door that led out onto the landing and yelled in shock as another corridor faced him.

"What the hell is going on here?" He asked loudly to no-one in particular and then strode down the mysterious fourth corridor to the end and wrenched open the door violently. Flack cursed a string of swear words not even fit for Danny to hear.

Another corridor.

What in God's name was happening? How could more of these corridors simply appear when he should be back at the landing by now? He growled and pulled out his torch, flicking it on. Obviously he had gone the wrong way somewhere and he'd find out soon enough what had happened. He wasn't stupid. He began slowly going down the corridor examining every inch of it with his torch and pushing on all the walls and wooden panels to see if there was another door he might have come through. There wasn't. He found nothing. Not a damn thing except a dim, crackling light and two doors at either end that both seemed to lead to the same corridor. Flack swore again. He flipped out his phone, deciding to call Danny to tell him to come and get him the hell out of this house. It was worth the shorter man's teasing just to escape from this place.

"Damn!" He grumbled as his cell phone showed no reception.

Flack put his phone back in his pocket and sighed, looking back and forth to either end. What the hell was he supposed to do now?

* * *

Danny had been listening to Mrs Caudwell drone on about Robert and Prince Patrick for nearly twenty minutes before it suddenly occurred to him that Flack had been gone well over half an hour now. Even though he knew the detective could handle himself he was starting to get just the tiniest bit worried. This house was big...and creepy and Elizabeth hadn't once enquired as to where he might have gone. Maybe she'd given him the wrong directions and got him lost somewhere? Trapped? Helpless? Danny breathed a deep breath to calm himself. No, he was just being silly. Flack was probably fine. The house was large and if he'd gone poking about upstairs, searching for Denzel and even finding him, then thirty minutes wasn't all that long. No. Flack's unease of the house and Mrs Caudwell was probably just rubbing off on him. Stupid Flack.

"Are you listening, dear?"

Danny blinked and stared at Elizabeth. He hadn't heard a word she'd said, he'd been so lost in his own thoughts.

"Sorry. I was just wondering if I should go and look for my partner," he apologised.

The fluffy rabbit snoozing on his lap gave a slight snore in its sleep.

"Oh, don't worry about him, dear. He's fine."

Danny frowned, a slight feeling of dread gnawing at him. Mrs Caudwell had left the room to go and get Robert. What if she'd snuck up on an unsuspecting Flack and bashed him over the head with a broomstick or something? Danny abruptly told his brain to shut up. Flack was six foot two of muscle and could surely overpower a little old lady with ease. No, he was being silly. Still...how did she know he was fine? And why wasn't she concerned he might be poking around her house?

"Um, how do you know that, Elizabeth?"

"The house told me," she smiled.

Danny swallowed nervously. "The house?"

"Yes. It talks to me."

"And what's it saying now?"

Mrs Caudwell paused for a second, head tilted to one side before saying, "Ron is fine. He's up on the first floor. The house is keeping him safe."

"It's Don!" Danny snapped angrily. Now feeling really concerned for his friend and finally convinced that the woman in front of him was completely crazy.

"Now, now, Denny. No need to get angry," she smiled.

Danny pulled out his phone and checked for signal to call Flack. Of course there was none...typical! The sandy bunny still slept on his lap and Danny tried to push it off him so he could stand.

"Look, I need to be leaving now. So I'm just going to find Don and then we'll be going," Danny stated.

"Denny, calm down. You mustn't leave. We have so much to do..."

Danny stared at her in confusion and annoyance. "My name is not Denny. I am not your son. I am a New York City Police Detective and I will be going to find my partner now!"

Danny shoved the rabbit off him and stood up. He glared at Mrs Caudwell as he stormed from the room through the door Flack had gone through. He marched down the hallway searching every room he came to for any sign of Flack. He could hear the old lady shuffling along behind him, trying to stop him.

"Flack!" he shouted loudly, ignoring the old lady following him.

"I really must insist you come back to the lounge," Mrs Caudwell said to him.

"Why?" snapped Danny angrily. "Why don't you want me to find my partner?"

"He's quite safe, I can assure you. The house won't let anything happen to him," she said comfortingly.

Danny halted and turned to stare at her in astonishment. She was either extremely delusional or else something else, something much darker was going on here, something he didn't like one bit. And Flack was in danger. He could sense it.

"Where is he?" he spat.

"I told you, the house is keeping him safe for me."

"What have you done to him?" Danny yelled.

She didn't look fazed in the slightest. If anything she was enjoying his panic.

"Nothing will happen to him if you return to the lounge with me," she smiled sweetly.

Danny knew it was a threat and felt sick to his stomach. He still didn't understand what was going on but knew both he and Flack were in danger.

"You're sick, lady," Danny snarled at her. This was a nasty joke she was playing on him.

He turned from her and walked through a set of double doors to his right and found himself in a very dirty, grimy looking room with huge glass windows on one side that looked out over the lawn. The floor was tiled and in the centre was a vast swimming pool with about three foot of stagnant, green water in the bottom. Danny had to cover his nose against the stench.

"Flack!" he yelled as he walked along the side of the pool towards the door on the other side. He had no idea how big the house was, it seemed to be going on forever and so far there was no sign of the lanky detective anywhere.

"You must come back," Mrs Caudwell repeated, following along behind him.

"Look, lady, you may as well give up now cos I'm finding him, with or without your help," Danny shouted over his shoulder at her. "Flack, where are you?" he yelled again.

"Denny, please..." she shouted and tried to grasp his arm.

"Get off me!" Danny growled and pulled away from her grasp. He lost his footing and stumbled backwards, tripping over a loose tile.

"Woooahhhh!" he cried as he tumbled over the side of the pool and splashed down into the filthy water below. He felt his knee crunch against the floor as he landed in the icy pool, head going under despite there only being three foot of water.

"Argh!" he yelped as he immediately resurfaced and struggled to get up, shivering with cold. "Fuck me, that's cold!"

"Denny, are you okay?" Mrs Caudwell called down to him.

Danny just shivered and trudged his way through the sludge towards the steps. It was like walking through milkshake, thick, goopy, stinky, icy-cold milkshake. He made it over to the steps and started to ascend them. His knee hurt like hell and he could no longer feel his body. He wrapped his arms around himself and trembled violently.

"I'mmmmm...s..s..s..so...c.c..co...olldd..." he stuttered.

"Come here, dear," Mrs Caudwell said kindly, wrapping an arm round him. Let's get you back to the fire to warm you up."

Danny didn't even hear her. He was unaware of her leading him back to the lounge. His body was numb, he couldn't stop shaking and he felt absolutely frozen. Frozen like ice.

* * *

Flack was really starting to panic now. He'd run through so many of the same damn identical corridor that he'd actually lost count of the number. He wasn't even cold anymore from all his running. The house was swallowing him up and he was trapped within. It had to be haunted, that was the only sensible conclusion. Mrs Caudwell was a witch who lived in a haunted house in the middle of nowhere and now he was going to have to spend eternity here unless he was found.

"Danny, help me," he shouted, hoping that just maybe his friend would hear him.

"Why won't you let me out? I want to get out?" Flack shouted at the house in general before pounding on one of the walls. He briefly considered using his gun before deciding that probably wasn't the best idea. Either the house would get more pissed at him and get him into worse trouble, or else Danny and Mrs Caudwell would appear and he'd have destroyed part of her home and be reprimanded by his Captain, possibly losing his job. After all, what would he tell them? That the house kidnapped him? Flack sighed miserably and walked over to one of the doors, debating as to whether there was any point in carrying on. The house seemed to have it in for him.

"Please house, let me out..." Flack mumbled and then pulled open the door.

Another corridor.

"Well, fuck you then!" Flack snarked and slammed it closed, storming off to the other end of the corridor.

He glanced back at the door he'd just come through when suddenly an idea came to him. The doors always seemed to be closed, even though he rarely ever shut them. Perhaps if he could get both the doors open at the same time it might help in some way. He carefully removed one of his shoes and wedged it firmly between the door and the jam, keeping it open. Then he walked down to the door at the other end. He had to be sure this wasn't the same corridor that he was stuck in, that it was a whole line of them that he'd eventually escape from. He pulled open the next door when he heard a slam from behind him.

"No!" he cried as he turned and rushed back down the corridor, flinging the other door open.

His shoe was nowhere to be seen. Not in the corridor he was in and not in the next one.

"What the hell have you done with my shoe, you creepy-ass house?" he shouted angrily.

He searched down the corridor and the next two after that but to no avail.

"Give me my shoe back," he wailed loudly.

He desperately didn't want to have to walk around with only one shoe on for the rest of the day, not to mention he'd already had to throw one pair away because of that dog peeing on them. He imagined what Messer would say if he returned to the lounge with only one shoe on. He'd never hear the end of it. Flack slid down the wall and sat on the floor staring hopelessly at the wall opposite him. Nope, it was no good. He was out of ideas. He'd be stuck in this wretched corridor until he either froze to death, starved to death or blew his brains out. Flack cried miserably to himself.

* * *

Danny only became aware of everything around him when he realised Mrs Caudwell was shoving some dry clothes and a towel into his arms. He was back in the lounge, sat in front of the cold fire, still dripping with stagnant water.

"Here's something dry to change into, dear," she said sweetly. "I'll give you a moment."

She disappeared off and Danny began slowly undressing, hands and fingers shaking as he did so. He didn't like accepting her help, not after what she'd hinted about Flack, but really he had no other choice. He slowly removed his jeans and boxers and examined the knee he'd hurt. It was quite swollen and bruised but fortunately it wasn't bleeding. He pulled on the suit pants she'd brought him and immediately felt some warmth spreading through his legs. Then, with some difficulty, he undid his soggy shirt and removed his vest too before putting on the dry shirt and jacket. Lastly he put on the dry shoes and socks she'd given him and wiped the towel over his hair. It came back green and Danny grimaced. He felt so cold and wished that the stupid fire would give off some heat. He transferred his belongings to his new suit even though some of them would have to be replaced; his phone wasn't even turning on anymore. He chucked his clothes into a pile on the couch and then suddenly noticed the sandy rabbit that was still sleeping down the other end.

"Hey little guy," Danny coughed as he stroked his fur.

His throat felt raw and his ears ached painfully. He was certain to have caught something, falling into that disgusting water. Another reason for Lindsay to not come back home. She hated it when he was ill, said he moaned like a bitch. Like he would ever moan about anything! She was much more moany than he ever was. He walked round the couch to look at himself in the mirror that hung on the wall behind it. He looked ridiculous. The suit must have been at least a hundred years old if not older and he still had bits of green slime in his hair. Danny grimaced as he thought of how Flack would tease him when he saw what he was wearing. God, he'd never live it down... Flack! Oh my God, Flack! Where was Flack?! What the hell had that stupid bitch done to him?! Danny realised this was his chance. He needed to find Flack before Mrs Caudwell came back. Quietly, and still shivering, he snuck from the room and disappeared into the dark bowels of the house...


	4. Chapter 3

A/N Once again thank you ever so much to reviewers, your kind and encouraging words mean so much to me.

They say, 'It is always darkest just before the Day dawneth.' (Thomas Fuller). I think that is very apt saying for this story.

* * *

Flack was lying miserably on the floor of the narrow corridor that he'd now been stuck in for the last hour. He was absolutely freezing and had given up all hope of finding a way out. Danny surely must have realised something was wrong by now. Hopefully he was already searching for him with Mrs Caudwell...or, with any luck, by himself. Flack suddenly sat up. God, he'd left him alone with her...with that witch. What if she'd done something to him? What if she'd hurt him in some way or cast a spell on him or put a potion in that tea? Or whatever the hell it was that witches did. He needed to get out of there. Perhaps it was Danny who really needed to be rescued... more than likely, Flack mused. Once again he glanced up the corridor when something suddenly caught his eye. It was the carpet. It was slightly different in one particular spot close by. That patch was more worn, had some loose threads and Flack crawled over to it, examining it closely with his torch. Yes. There was a definite line in the carpet. Using his nails he managed dig his fingers into the line and prise it open. A trapdoor leading into blackness lay before him. Well, he didn't have anything to lose... Flack shone his torch down into the darkness and then let himself drop, praying for a soft landing...

* * *

Danny wandered around the house feeling more and more creeped out, the further he went. He had slowly warmed up a bit, not that the house was really much warmer than that icy water had been. But this lady was definitely a fruitcake, that was for sure and he actually felt scared about bumping into her again. He suddenly heard a noise from up ahead and quickly darted into a side room. He looked through the keyhole and watched as she shuffled past the door and down the corridor. So much for the house telling her where people were, he thought. He turned around and almost let out a squeak. The room he was in was some type of office with a large desk at the far end and another door behind it. Between him and the desk were rows and rows of cages and crates that were full of live animals. Birds nested in wire cages and glass cages were filled with different breeds of insects, frogs, spiders, cockroaches, scorpions, lizards, mice, rats and all either types of nasties. Larger animals were sleeping in bigger cages on the floor; cats, foxes, dogs, racoons, badgers. What freaked Danny out the most were the numerous cages that contained various types of snakes. Some small and brightly coloured, other larger ones with big, thick bodies that coiled round forever. Danny trembled in fear. Ever so slowly he started to back out of the room when suddenly he felt a painful twinge in the knee he'd hurt in the pool and then it gave way beneath him. He fell to the ground with a bang. All around him a stirring and shuffling began as the animals started to wake up. They peered out at him from their prisons, beady eyes watching him closely. Every single one, necks stretched taut as they all craned to see him on the floor. For a moment, nothing happened. No-one moved. And then suddenly the cages weren't there anymore. Danny blinked but there was no glass, no wire, no metal caging to trap the creatures in their homes. Danny scrambled to his feet as the nearest animals and bugs started to advance on him. He reached for the doorknob and shot back out into the corridor as quickly as possible, hoping Mrs Caudwell was no longer nearby.

"How the hell did that just happen?" he whispered to himself, fear clutching at him. How the hell could glass and metal caging just completely disappear? And if he'd just survived that, then what the hell was happening to Flack?

* * *

Flack landed with a thump in a room that looked very much like a white padded cell in an insane asylum. He didn't pause for a moment but ran to the door and pushed on it, praying it wasn't locked. With luck he found it wasn't and managed to get it open, slipping from the room into a wider, lighter corridor. Flack nervously made his way to the end, praying it wouldn't be a repeat performance as he opened the next door. It wasn't. He carried on through the next room and found himself in a large conservatory, full of strange plants and trees. Apprehensively, he made his way over to one of the glass panes and peered out of it. He yelped in surprise when he discovered that he was still on the first floor. Surely climbing down that trapdoor in the first floor corridor would have led him onto the ground floor? He looked about, trying to find out exactly where he was in the house. It seemed that the conservatory was located on top of an extension to the ground floor that jutted out towards the rear of the house. He could make out the neat garden surrounding it and beyond that the tangle of trees and brush that surrounded the house. For the first time in his life he felt really and truly trapped. This house was never going to let them go. He turned to leave when suddenly he felt his shoeless foot tugged out from underneath him.

"Argh!" he cried as he stumbled and looked down.

Some sort of creeper had been busily winding itself around his leg while he'd been looking out of the glass.

"Get off me!" yelped Flack as he unwound it from himself.

Just as he'd finished another creeper latched onto his arm, coiling itself around it, and began pulling him in towards a gigantic, bulbous plant. Flack turned and stared in horror. The centre of the plant was opening itself up, like a huge disgusting mouth. Flack struggled away until he felt his other arm being entangled in the nasty vine.

"Let me go," cried Flack desperately as he fought the plant.

Its grotesque mouth was wide open and Flack saw what looked very much like rows and rows of pointed teeth smiling back at him. Oh, God. He was going to be eaten alive by a plant.

"Oh shit!"

Flack struggled harder against the creepers holding his arms back when another vine started encircling his waist and wrapping tightly around his middle. It was slowly squeezing the breath from him, crushing the life from him so he'd be easy prey for the revolting mouth that was now only a foot away and seemed to be drooling with excitement. A few drops of it splashed onto his hand and forearm and immediately turned his skin luminous green where it landed.

"Nnaarrgghhh!" screamed Flack loudly in a panic.

He used his booted foot to stamp hard on one of the creepers and immediately his right arm was set free. He grabbed his gun out of its holster and fired off a couple of rounds into the repulsive mouth. A high pitched screeching sounded out around the conservatory and Flack's left arm was released. He immediately used both his hands to cover his ears, gun still held in one, as the screeching got so high pitched it was painful. He started to pull his body away from the plant and unwrap himself from the creeper that was still round his waist.

"Oh fuck it," he moaned when the creeper held on.

He fired another round into the thick body of the creeper and felt it loosen its grip straight away. He pulled it off him and ran from the room, uncaring of what happened to the plant. He slammed the door closed behind him and breathed heavily as he leant back against it, the high pitched screeching still ringing in his ears.

* * *

Danny had managed to find a spiralling staircase leading off one hallway he'd arrived in and had begun to climb steadily upwards, despite some complaints from his knee. That had been almost ten minutes ago and so far he'd not come to another floor or passed any doors or windows. Where the hell was this staircase leading? To the sky? He paused to take a few breaths and collapsed down onto the steps. He'd hoped it would lead him up onto the first floor which was where Elizabeth had said Flack was being kept. Not that he trusted her one bit. However, this staircase obviously led way past the first floor and yet he didn't remember seeing any towers from the outside as they'd driven up. He should really go back down anyway, this staircase wasn't leading him the way he needed to go to rescue Flack and yet... Danny was intrigued as to where it went. Damn his being an investigator. He sighed and stood up. God, his knee ached like hell...and this suit was itchy against his skin.

Just then he heard singing from up above him. His eyes widened in fear. There was nowhere for him to go, nowhere for him to hide. If he tried to run back down he'd surely stumble over himself and fall. The singing was getting closer now; it was a woman's voice. Oh God, what if it was Mrs Caudwell? He could hear the voice almost upon him and he squashed himself against the wall and pulled out his gun ready. He aimed it up the stairs as he heard the voice just around the next bend. Then nothing. Nothing happened. No one was appeared...no-one was there. Danny blinked and slowly crept up a few steps, perhaps the person had stopped? No-one was hiding there, the staircase was empty. Then all of a sudden the singing started up again only this time it was below him and getting further away. Danny gulped and shivered. What the hell? He slid his gun back into its holster and quickly began to ascend the stairs. He wasn't about to admit it, but secretly he wondered if he'd just experienced a ghostly encounter.

It was another five minutes before he eventually reached the top of the stairs and was faced with an old wooden door. He lifted the latch and pushed it open to find himself in a largish, octagonal room with a window in each wall. The room was brilliantly hot as the windows had no glass in them and sunlight shone through, heating the room. Danny immediately ran to one window and warmed himself up. It was only then that he realised just how cold he'd been. Almost frozen. He must have been getting used to it as he'd not been aware of the cold since he'd dried off. Danny blinked his eyes against the sun and then stared out across the landscape. A tangle of trees, bushes and undergrowth stretched as far as the eye could see and looking straight down, Danny could tell he was a good way up, almost as high as the crimelab was. Wait a minute...that was impossible, Danny frowned. No way did this house have a tower thirty-five stories high otherwise they would have noticed it as they drove up. He was starting to get a bad feeling...again!

Danny quickly moved from window to window, looking out of each one in an attempt to ascertain which way they'd come in and where the road was. All he saw were trees, masses of them, an ever continuing sea of green that surrounded the house and garden. No road, no entrance and no sign of Flack's car. God, Flack would be pissed if anything had happened to his car. A horrible feeling irked at Danny as he thought of the tall detective again. He needed to get out of this tower and find him! Enough pissing about! He took a step back towards the door when a flapping sound caught his attention and he noticed a jet black raven had appeared on the windowsill nearest the door. It cocked its head and looked at him in interest. Danny took a step to the side and once more began to approach the door.

"Squawk!"

Danny jumped as the raven squawked loudly at him.

"Err... just leaving, Mr. Raven, Sir," Danny said nervously. He didn't want a repeat performance of the crazy animals downstairs.

He took another step forward when the raven began flapping its wings madly and flew into the room. It landed on the floor between Danny and the door.

"Oh," Danny said, annoyed. Stupid bird.

He tried to sidestep it but whichever way he went, the bird mirrored him so it was always between him and the door.

"Look, would you just FUCK OFF!" Danny shouted, losing his patience. He needed to get to Flack.

The bird blinked at him inquisitively and cocked its head.

"Grrrrraaagghhh!" Danny shouted in rage, flapping his arms wildly around him to scare it. He was getting sick of this stupid house, its weird owner and all these fucking nutjob animals.

"Squawk!"

"Just get the fuck out of my way!" Danny shouted and charged to the door.

The bird flapped at his chest and started clawing at him with his talons, scratching through his shirt and ripping his skin. Danny punched out at the bird and made a run for it.

"Just leave me alone, I need to find Don!" Danny yelled, starting to feel panicked.

The bird immediately landed back on the floor and looked at him with its beady eyes. Danny frowned at it for a moment and then rushed to the now unguarded door. As he was shutting it behind him he paused for a moment as a thought suddenly came to him. He chanced a look back into the room at the raven.

"Flack?" he murmured questioningly.

The bird blinked at him and cocked its head once more. "Squawk!"

"Nah," Danny muttered, shaking his head, and shut the door. God, he was going mad!

* * *

Flack wondered around aimlessly through room after room as he tried to find his way back to anywhere that he recognised. Well, anywhere other than that corridor. He entered a huge bedroom that looked rather more lived in than any room he'd previously been in. None of the furniture was covered in dustsheets and the bed looked slept in. He wondered if it was Mrs Caudwell's room. He walked over to a dresser and looked down at the items on it. A large comb with blond hairs stuck in it, numerous potions and tonics, a tin of wax, a small moustache comb and some men's aftershave. No, this was a man's room, Flack mused. He suddenly felt excitement jolt through him as he realised he could be standing in Denzel Caudwell's bedroom. Finally, things were looking up!

Flack glanced around him, there was no sign of any other person in the room but there were two doors in the walls, one to his left and one to his right. He approached the door on the right first; a bathroom, nothing exciting there. Then he crossed the room and entered through the other door. It was a large walk-in closet full of men's clothes that must have dated back to at least the beginning of the twentieth century, if not earlier. Flack's eyes were drawn to a metallic gleaming at the end of the closet and he began to walk nearer, hand going to his gun as he did so. There were two metal sliding doors that looked very much like the ones that tended to front elevators. What the hell would an elevator be doing in an old house like this? Flack gulped and then slowly reached out and pressed the button beside the doors. He heard a whirring sound, a juddering and then the doors slid opened and Flack let out a yell.

"Danno?" Flack choked, eyes wide in fear, heart in his throat.

He stepped closer and blinked a few times. No. No, it wasn't Danny. Nearly...but not quite. In front of him was a huge glass case that looked more like a coffin, largely due to the fact that a man stood inside it, cold, glassy eyes staring out at him. For one minute Flack thought he was alive and was going to chase him but as he breathed in deep gulps of air, the man remained stationary. It was a statue. A life-size statue of a man that looked remarkably like Danny Messer except for a few small differences. He had a much more old-fashioned hair style, his face was clean shaven, his clothes were out dated, like the ones in the closet, and he looked slightly skinnier and less muscular...but apart from that...

Flack reached out and gently opened the glass front to the case. Gingerly he stretched out a finger to touch whoever it was in front of him but then curled it back. He took a breath to steady his nerves and then reached out again and gently touched the statue's face. Immediately he pulled his hand back. That was skin. That was fucking skin he'd just touched. It was soft. Flack blanched and his stomach did a turn as he suddenly got the feeling that this statue might actually not be a statue but another one of Mrs Caudwell's stuffed animals...or people?! And judging from what she'd said to Danny about him looking like her son, this was Denzel Caudwell. No wonder she was going on about him not coming downstairs and not being able to walk. She'd fucking turned him into a stuffed monster! But then, how did his fingerprints get all over a crimescene in New York? And why didn't he look anything like his mugshot? Flack retched as he wondered what the hell Mrs Caudwell had done to Denzel and whether he and Danny might end up like this if they didn't escape. They needed to get out of there fast.

* * *

Danny had finally made it back down to the bottom of the spiralling staircase but had arrived in what looked rather like a crypt more than anything else. It certainly wasn't the place he'd started from and he sighed tiredly. His knee ached painfully and the cuts on his chest from where the bird had attacked him stung. He looked round the dark crypt and then hesitated at the door. He could either turn away and tramp all the way back up the a million stairs he'd just come down, making himself dizzy and sick again in the process. Or else he could grow some balls and find another way out of this spooky crypt, hopefully avoiding any mummies or vampires that might be taking a nap down there. What would Flack do? Danny asked himself. Flack would storm right through there, obliterating any ghosts and ghouls that might come his way until he'd found his way out of this place. Danny ignored the voice in his head reminding him that Flack was scared of ghosts and how increasingly superstitious Danny was discovering the lanky detective to be. He needed to think of Flack and get out of there. Flack might be dead now for all he knew. He probably was. Mrs Caudwell had probably caught him up in her maze of a house and used him to make pie with, just like she had with those rabbits.

Danny found himself collapsing to the floor and tears spilling down his face. God...Don... why hadn't he listened to him? Don had known something was wrong about this place. That Mrs Caudwell was a witch. He'd even suggested they'd go back. He should have damn well listened to him. Now Don was more than likely dead and it was all his fault. He'd made Don trample through all those trees and bushes to get here, he'd made Don drink the tea, he'd made Don be polite to that evil bitch. Oh God... Danny wept loudly and wiped his tears away with the back of his hand. He should never have teased Don about the spiders. He'd been so mean to him. Poor Don. Poor dead Don. If Danny ever got out of there he swore he'd kill Mrs Caudwell first chance he got. Not that it looked very likely that he'd manage to escape. He'd probably end up dead in a few hours too, just like Don.

Danny started to sob again.

* * *

Flack almost screamed in joy as he found himself back on the landing to the great staircase in the main hall. He literally flew down it and down the corridor to where he remembered the sitting room with the cold fire to be. He prayed Danny was still in there and that they could just leave and never look back. He ran into the room, a huge grin on his face but dropped it as soon as he realised the room was in fact empty. The fire still burnt cheerily in its grate, still giving off no heat as Don rounded the couch to approach it. He froze in horror, mouth dropping open as he saw what was on the couch. There, in the place where Danny had last been sitting, was a pile of Danny's clothes, the clothes he'd been wearing the last time Flack had seen him, and sat in the middle of it was a small, sandy-coloured bunny rabbit with bright blue eyes, chewing on one end of Danny's warped glasses.

"Oh my God...Danno!" Flack cried as he ran to the couch and collapsed down on the floor beside it. "What the hell did she do to you?"

Flack stifled back a sob as he examined the rabbit. It was the sandy colour of Danny's hair, it had blue eyes just like Danny, it was quite small, rather like Danny and to top it off it seemed to be obsessed with Danny's glasses.

"Oh God, Danno. I'll find a way to change you back," Flack cried. "I promise."

Flack picked up the fluffy bunny and cradled it to his chest. He rocked it gently back and forth like a baby as tears slipped from his eyes. This was all his fault. He'd left Danny alone with that witch and she'd turned him into a rabbit. Flack's eyes prickled with tears. He should never have tried to convince them that this was the correct house. This old lady might have said she was Elizabeth Caudwell but if she was a witch she'd have said anything to lure them inside. Who knows what she knew anyway? She could probably mind-read. Flack should've known better. He'd known that she was a witch from the moment they'd hit that weird garden. He should have tried harder to persuade Danny that they should turn back. He shouldn't have even driven his car up the driveway. Flack sobbed into the rabbit's soft fur and gently stroked its ears.

"I love you, Danno. It'll be okay," he murmured to the sandy bunny. "I'll get you out of here and then we'll find a way to turn you back. Mac will know what to do; Mac always knows what to do. Or Hawkes or Sid. They're doctors; they'll know what to do. And I'll come back here with a storm of officers and search this place high and low for an antidote or whatever."

Flack sniffed and managed to use a hand to wipe his nose.

"But you gotta forgive me for leaving you here alone with her, Danno. Please forgive me..." he begged.

Flack broke down sobbing and hugged the rabbit tighter. He kissed it gently on the top of its head and it made a soft noise.

"Come on, let's get out of here," he murmured.

He stood and hugged the small rabbit protectively against him as he made his way over to the door that led to the entrance hall. He froze in horror as he heard a sweet singing coming from down the hallway. Elizabeth Caudwell. Oh shit. Flack turned and fled through the other door, realising that he was more than likely about to get lost in this damn house again. But if he met that woman and she turned him into a rabbit too, then they'd both be done for. He was their only hope right now.

"It's alright, Danno. I got ya," he soothed as he ran down the corridor he was in, searching for a suitable place to hide.

Eventually, when he could no longer hear the singing, he paused and leant against a wall to catch his breath.

"Wooahhh!" he yelped as it spun round and he found himself in a library. Every wall was covered with shelves full of books and a huge empty fireplace stood in the middle of one wall, otherwise the room was empty. There wasn't even a single table or chair in it. There also weren't any noticeable doors and his heart sunk as he realised they were trapped. He didn't want to go back out the way he'd come in, in case Mrs Caudwell was still nearby.

"It's okay, Danno. We'll get out of here together. It's just gonna take a bit of time, but we'll be okay. I'll protect you," Flack said softly to the bunny and held him tighter with one arm while he used his other one to gently stroke along its back. "I love you."

A nasty grating sound of stone against stone echoed around the room. Flack turned around slowly, dread filling his stomach and screamed at what he saw.


	5. Chapter 4

Denzel Caudwell was standing in the empty fireplace, eyes glowing as he stared menacingly across the room at Flack with a sandy bunny clutched to his chest.

"Oh shit!" cried Flack and he began to scramble away, turning to the shelves and throwing books from them in blind panic with his free hand. Hopefully there would be another secret doorway like the one he'd come in by.

"You stay away from us!" he screamed as Denzel Caudwell started to approach him.

"Don? Don, it's me!" Denzel shouted.

Flack danced out of his reach with the rabbit, throwing books at the ghost, or live-dead person, or monster...whatever the fuck it was!

"You leave me and Danno alone you fucking ghost!" Flack yelled, throwing volume after volume.

One of them thudded against Denzel's body and he let out a loud, "Oof!"

"Flack, you idiot. It's me, Messer!" Denzel muttered angrily, glowering at Flack.

Flack paused with a book raised above his head, ready to throw. "W...w...what?" he stuttered.

"It's me, Danny. Who the fuck did you think it was?"

Don's eyes widened and then he frowned, looking from Danny the rabbit, to Danny the man and then back to the rabbit.

"B...b...but...if you're Danny, then who's this?" Flack asked in confusion, gesturing to the rabbit.

"That's Robert. Mrs Caudwell's rabbit," Danny grumbled, finally standing up straight having caught his breath back from being winded by the book Flack had thrown.

"Robert rabbit?" Flack frowned as he looked in bewilderment at the rabbit in his arms. "Then that means...that means..."

Flack's face broke out into a wide grin and he suddenly rushed towards Danny, flinging an arm round him and pulling him in for a huge hug. Danny's arms wrapped around his body and squeezed him tightly, both men ecstatic to finally have found one another alive and well.

"I'm so glad I found you," Danny cried as he hugged Flack tighter.

"Me too. I thought I'd never see you again," Flack replied tearfully.

"I thought you were dead," sobbed Danny.

"I thought you were a rabbit!" Flack sniffed.

"I thought...wait. What?" Danny frowned as he pulled back and stared at Flack who was still clutching Robert in one arm. "You really thought I was a rabbit?" Danny couldn't help but smile at the lanky detective.

Flack looked a bit ticked off. "Well yeah. I finally make it back to the lounge and all I find is a pile of your clothes where you were sitting, including your underwear I might add, and in the middle of it is this rabbit who's chewing on your glasses. What am I supposed to think?"

Danny couldn't stop himself from breaking out into a huge grin. "That I changed my clothes and a rabbit decided to sleep in them?"

"He had your glasses!" shouted Flack. "And he looks like you. Blue eyes, fur the same colour as your hair..."

Flack drifted off as he stared at Danny grinning at him, quite convinced his thinking at the time had been logical. Danny stared back at him smirking at the funny detective and his irrational thinking. He neglected to acknowledge the ten seconds back in the tower that he'd actually considered that Flack might have been turned into a bird.

"I love you, man," he smiled happily, just so relieved to have Flack back alive and well. The fact that the sarcastic detective thought he'd been turned into a fluffy little rabbit was just so... so Flack. Danny couldn't help but be somewhat tickled, and relived.

Flack's tetchiness quickly dissipated and he hugged Danny again. "I love ya too, Danno. I was so worried...I left you alone with her...if anything had happened I'd never have forgiven myself..."

Danny hugged Flack back, feeling him with hands just to make sure he was really there, not another evil trick that the house had decided to play on him.

"It's okay, Don. It's all my fault. I should have listened to you when you said she was a witch, when you said we should go back..."

Suddenly Robert bucked between their bodies and Flack pulled away to steady him against his chest, stroking a calming hand down his back. "It's okay, Danno," he said softly.

"Robert," Danny corrected him.

Flack blushed and looked away and Danny grinned to himself. Suddenly he noticed something strange.

"Flack?"

"Hmmm?" Flack looked up at Danny expectantly.

"Why are you only wearing one shoe?"

"The house ate my other one," Flack stated sincerely.

It didn't even sound like a joke, Danny thought, not after everything he'd been through himself.

"Why are you wearing that old suit and have green stuff in your hair?" Flack asked.

"Cos I fell into a mouldy, old swimming pool," Danny grimaced, as he recalled the incident.

Flack nodded and hugged Robert closer to him.

"We should try and get out of here," Danny said wisely. "How did you get in?"

"Through the wall over there, it spun round," Flack said pointing. "But I wouldn't advise going out that way, Mrs Caudwell was somewhere nearby."

Danny shivered and nodded in agreement. "Right. Well I came up some stairs that led into the fireplace but I wouldn't suggest we go that way either. It just leads to this dead end crypt that's full of spid... you wouldn't like it," Danny said quickly.

Flack stared at him for a moment and then nodded, looking warily at the fireplace. "Guess we better start looking for another exit then," he said.

"You take that end, I'll take this?" Danny suggested as he went to the nearest shelf and started taking down the books or pushing them in.

"Sure," Flack replied and did the same.

"So what the hell happened to you?" Danny asked as they worked.

"Well, I found a toilet and managed to cool down my face from that stupid cat. But on my way back I got lost and then got stuck in this corridor that just seemed to repeat itself over and over again. I was in there for over an hour. That's how I lost my shoe."

"I think Mrs Caudwell did it," Danny told him seriously. "She kinda hinted that she'd trapped you somewhere."

"Why?"

"I don't think she likes you very much," Danny stated.

"You think?" Flack replied bitingly.

"So how did you escape?"

"Found a trapdoor. Then I wandered around for a bit after that until this plant tried to eat me."

"A plant tried to eat you?" Danny said in disbelief, eyes wide in astonishment.

"Yeah," Flack nodded sincerely, showing Danny his arm. The luminous green plant drool hadn't faded in the slightest.

"Weird," Danny murmured.

"This whole place is weird," Flack stated matter-of-factly. "And you haven't even heard the worst part. I think I found Denzel Caudwell's bedroom and there was this bizarre elevator in it."

"And ?" Danny asked as he bent down and stuck his head under one of the shelves, looking for any levers.

"Denzel Caudwell was in there."

"You found him?" Danny asked excitedly. "What did he say?"

"He was dead," Flack said bluntly. "Or...stuffed to be more accurate."

Danny banged his head on the shelf in shock and straightened up rubbing it. "He was what?"

"Stuffed," Flack repeated. "You know, like all those animals she has."

"Talk about taking taxidermy a step too far," Danny muttered to himself.

"Or a thousand steps," Flack mumbled. "So what happened to you then?" he asked as he nodded at Danny's attire.

"That lady is so fucked up," Danny shivered. "I suddenly realised that you'd been gone for ages and went to look for you. But she followed me around and kept telling me to stop otherwise something bad would happen to you."

Flack grimaced and hugged Robert for comfort.

"Anyway that's when I fell into this revolting swimming pool and it was absolutely freezing, even colder than this house. So she took me back to the lounge and got me some dry clothes."

"That's kind of creepy, Mess," Flack frowned.

"Yeah, I know but I was kinda out of it. She kept calling me Denny. I think she thinks I'm her son," Danny said pulling a face.

"You do look like him," Flack pointed out. "That's why I thought you were Denzel just now, what with the clothes and all..."

"Well I managed to escape after I got changed and started looking for you. I found more stuffed animals, and some live ones, got attacked by a bird and I think I even saw a ghost."

Flack stared at him for a moment, a look of smugness on his face. "I told you they existed," he said proudly.

"No you didn't," retorted Danny. "You said you just didn't like static and creepy buildings!"

Flack scowled at him. "Well I knew they existed anyway," he grumbled to himself.

"Whatever," Danny laughed, rolling his eyes. "The point is, this place is freakin' weird and we need to leave as soon as possible. No more splitting up, okay?"

"Agreed," Flack nodded. "And hopefully that witch won't find us."

"Hmmm..." Danny made a discouraging noise.

"Hmmm...?" Don questioned.

"It's just she said she could talk to the house. That she knew exactly where you were the whole time you were gone."

"You think she knows we're in here?" Flack asked worriedly, looking about in alarm.

Danny shrugged. "I don't know. She's definitely got something going on."

"Witch," Flack insisted. "I mean, she's even got the standard black cat."

"She said it was thirty five years old," Danny informed him.

Flack shook his head. "Nutjob. And what kind of a person calls their cat Pat anyway?"

"Same person who calls their rabbit Robert."

Flack frowned slightly and stroked a hand over Robert protectively. Danny grinned at him.

"I did think it was funny how she could hear everything we said perfectly well except for our names," Danny mused.

"Who knows what that was about," Flack muttered in some distaste. "Hey, I wonder what she would have called Mac if he'd come instead?"

"Can you imagine it?!" laughed Danny. "Hmmm...Mac Taylor..."

"Ultimate Jailor!" Flack finished with a grin.

"I like it," laughed Danny.

"What about Hawkes?" Flack asked.

"Hmmm...Doctor Hawkes...Doctor Squawks?" Danny suggested, thinking of the raven he had crossed paths with.

"Hawkes does squawk," Flack agreed and the two men laughed loudly.

"And what about Adam then?" Danny chuckled.

"Adam Ross...Adam Ross the boss?" suggested Flack, laughing.

Danny's face fell immediately. "That's not funny, Flack. Don't even joke about it." he said seriously.

Flack thought about it for a moment and then laughed again. Danny soon joined in with him.

"Hey, I'm glad I found you, man," Danny said happily, pausing in his search and looking over to Flack. It felt good to be with the tall detective again; like now they were together they could face anything the house threw their way and survive.

Flack smiled fondly at him. "Me too."

Danny pulled out another book and suddenly the bookcase gave a loud groan and began slowly moving round. The secret doorway obviously hadn't been used in a long time and the mechanism was probably rusted.

"Flack!" Danny screamed as he reached out for the detective, not wanting to lose sight of him again.

"Danny!" Flack yelled and ran towards him, not wanting to be separated from the CSI again.

Flack managed to grab hold of Danny's hand and the CSI pulled him in as the bookcase closed behind them, having spun round a half circle. Danny could feel Flack's heart thumping in his chest as he clung on to the taller man. God, he was becoming needy! He had to get out of this place.

"Danno, where are we?" Flack whispered. "You been here before?"

Danny shook his head. They were in a long, wide corridor, carpeted in red and for once it didn't look run down. In fact, it was the cleanest and tidiest place either of them had been in the entire house.

"Come on," Danny murmured and started walked down the corridor, hand on his gun.

Flack followed a couple of steps behind, his right hand also on his gun while his left still carried Robert. Every so often he'd turn back to look behind them, checking that they weren't being followed.

"I hate this place," Flack grouched, though he was glad he wasn't alone anymore. Being with Danny made him feel safer and braver, not that he was going to tell the CSI that. But he really did love Danny like a brother and was relieved beyond words to have him back.

"You and me both, brother. Let's try in here," Danny suggested as he pulled open a door on the left.

It was pitch black inside the room so Danny pulled out his torch and clicked it on, shining the beam of light into the room. It set upon something long, hairy and very large. Suddenly it moved and Danny realised it was a leg. A very large and very hairy leg...and then another one appeared beside it. Danny swallowed as he slowly moved the beam of light along the leg, over a gigantic hairy body and back down another leg towards some sticky white goo. He trembled as the humongous spider shifted over its web and started to move towards him. Danny hurriedly slammed the door shut.

"I don't think it's that way," Danny quickly said to Flack and turned away.

The tall detective frowned at him. "Why not?" he demanded and placed a hand on the doorknob.

"There was no floor in that room," Danny said simply, shrugging and walking off up the corridor.

Flack glanced toward the door and then slowly released the handle, following Danny on up the corridor.

"What about in here?" Flack asked as he opened another door and shone his torch into the room.

There didn't seem to be anything in there and Flack hesitantly took a step forward. Robert suddenly started struggling in his arms and Flack rapidly became aware that the floor of the room was moving. He shone his torch over it whilst grappling with the rabbit and realised that it was covered with snakes. Hundreds of serpents of different size and colour slithered over the ground. Just like in that Indiana Jones movie, Flack thought to himself, and he was Harrison Ford and Danny...well, Danny could be that screaming woman... or he would be any minute now if he caught sight of those snakes. Flack quickly stepped away and slammed the door closed. He turned to see Danny looking questioningly at him.

"Oh...err..." Flack stuttered.

Danny quirked an eyebrow up at him and glanced at the door.

"Um, there was no floor in that room either," Flack shrugged and carried on up the corridor past Danny, stroking a hand down Robert's back to calm him.

Danny smiled knowingly at Flack's back and then followed on after him until they reached the end of the corridor. There was only one door left to go through. Danny pulled out his gun and stood to one side of it, hand ready on the door handle. Flack stood the other side and took out his gun but it was difficult with the rabbit getting in the way.

"Flack, you need to dump that rabbit," Danny nodded.

"Dump Robert?" Flack repeated solemnly. He looked like a child who'd just been told he couldn't have a puppy in a pet shop.

"Yes!" Danny hissed.

"We can't just leave him here, Mess," Flack murmured sadly. He placed his gun back in its holster and stroked Robert a few times.

"Oh for goodness sake," Danny muttered exasperatedly.

Flack scowled at him and then shoved the rabbit into his arms. "I have an idea." He began to remove his shirt and used the sleeves to tie it round himself like a sling. Then he took the rabbit back and placed it carefully in the pouch. He looked proud of his work even though it was a lot colder now he was wearing only a vest. He pulled out his gun and stood ready for Danny to open the door.

"Are we going to shoot her if we find her?" Danny whispered uncertainly.

Flack frowned for a moment. "I am," he finally replied, thinking of everything that had happened to him since he'd arrived.

Danny nodded and then counted them in. He yanked open the door and they rushed in, guns pointing out in front of them while their eyes searched the next room. It was dark, nothing moved in the blackness and they pointed their guns hopelessly at the nothing they saw. Then suddenly, as they walked forward, a bright spotlight appeared before them, illuminating a man dressed in a parcelforce uniform on a small stand.

"Oh shit," Danny said in dismay as he stared at what clearly used to be a very much alive delivery man.

Flack retched and turned away. "This is so fucked up," he choked.

"Is this what she did to Denzel?" Danny asked. He saw Flack nodding and looked back at the man. He was so lifelike, it was unnatural. Mrs Caudwell must be an incredibly talented taxidermist.

"Let's get a move on, Mess," Flack muttered as he stepped around the gruesome scene only to be confronted by another spotlight and another scene, this time of a grocery delivery-boy.

"So fucking wrong," Flack grimaced.

"You think she does this to everyone who comes knocking at her door?" Danny asked worriedly.

Flack stared round at him in horror. "Well, not to you!" he shouted in rather a panicked voice. "She loves you, doesn't she? Thinks you're her son. Oh no, this won't happen to you!" he pointed out.

Danny gawped at him in concern. It was true, she did seem to love him...but she hated Flack. Danny had to make sure that she didn't get her hands on the tall detective.

"I won't let her hurt you, Don," he murmured and placed a reassuring hand on Flack's back.

"Yeah, thanks. I feel so much better now!" Flack snarked as he walked off, passing what looked like a plumber, a make-up saleswoman and even a little girl who'd been selling cookies. Flack made a mental note to try and search out these people on missing persons...if he didn't end up joining them.

Danny hurriedly followed after him, trying not to look at all the people as he passed them.

"Flack, wait up! We gotta stick together. You can't just go storming off!" Danny yelled.

"Oh, so I should just hang around here until she finds me?" Flack shouted frantically.

"You gotta calm down, Don," Danny soothed. "I need you here with me on this one. You can't lose your head!"

Flack blinked at him and then dropped his head to his chest. "I'm sorry, Danno..." he murmured apologetically. "It's just..." he sighed and ran a hand over his face. "I'm scared, alright?"

Danny stepped forward and placed a supporting hand on his arm to calm him. "So am I," he admitted.

"I can deal with the murderers, rapists, arsonists, robbers...I know where I am with them," Flack stated. "But this..." he gestured around him at the house. "This is so far beyond me..."

"You and me both," Danny nodded. "You think I want to be locked away in here, forced to live as her son forever?" he asked.

Flack placed a hand on Danny's shoulder and squeezed it. "That's not going to happen, Mess," he stated. Danny's little pep talk seemed to have done the trick. "I'll look after you."

The two men squeezed each other's arms and smiled reassuring. They both knew they'd do anything for each other, no matter how dangerous or life threatening it was. And neither one would leave the other behind. They were either getting out of the house together, or else they'd both be staying for eternity.

"Well isn't this touching?"

Flack stared past Danny's shoulder in horror as Danny spun on his heel.

The witch.


	6. Chapter 5

A/N – Another shout out to those who review, you've all been lovely.

This chapter may be seen as being an incy bit traumatic, just thought I'd warn ya!

* * *

The witch.

No longer did she look like the sweet old lady they had met when they'd first entered the house but more like something out of a nightmare. Her long white hair flowed down over her shoulders and her eyes flashed a brilliant green. It seemed she had grown in height as well as girth and she'd aged, despite the fact that they'd assumed she was ninety-two when they'd first met her. She looked powerful, possessed, evil oozing from her every pore and both men felt scared out of their wits.

"Run!" screamed Flack as he turned and sprinted away from her. He looked behind him to check Danny was following and felt relieved when he saw the CSI right on his heels. Flack wrenched open the nearest door and they ran through, finding themselves in another corridor.

"This way," Flack said breathlessly as he led them away from the room they'd just exited.

He chanced another look behind them and saw the witch drift out of the room. She wasn't even walking but levitating eerily along behind them. A huge, gaping grin spread across her face, the entirety of her eyes a blazing green.

"Aargh!" Danny screamed as his knee chose that moment to remind him of the damage it was suffering. It buckled underneath him and he fell once more, his face smacking into the ground and dazing him slightly. He could feel the witch drifting closer. It was too late...she was practically upon him.

Suddenly six shots were fired off in quick succession from somewhere up ahead of him and he looked back toward the witch. The bullets had just gone right through her and she leered down at him as she floated nearer.

A solid hand grabbed hold of his arm and yanked him to his feet. "I got ya," Flack nodded and pulled him along, firing off more shots at the witch even though it was futile.

They followed the corridor round a few bends and then ran though a music room, a games room and another creepy display room full of dead people before they found themselves in another hallway.

"Keep going," panted Flack and he pushed Danny on. He knew the CSI didn't have as much stamina as he did, wasn't as fast as him and had obviously injured himself somehow. But Flack wouldn't leave him behind. His one concern was to protect Danny at all costs and he would die trying...if he really had to...but he'd rather not.

They stopped noticing where they ran and continued on, going further and further into the never-ending house. Climbing staircases and descending different ones, running up corridors and down hallways, not once coming across anywhere they recognised. At last Flack pulled open a door and pushed Danny inside closing it tight behind them. They both leant heavily against it, gasping for breath as they coughed and wheezed. They couldn't outrun the witch forever and bullets didn't seem to be working. They were running out of options.

"What the fuck are we gonna do, Flack?" Danny wheezed, blood trickling down his face from where he'd fallen and smacked his head against the floor.

"I don't know," Flack mumbled worriedly. He placed his palms on the door and bent forward gasping for air.

"You saved my life," Danny murmured.

Flack tilted his head to the side so he could look at him. "Wasn't gonna leave you, Danno," he replied. "Shit, you're bleeding!"

"I know," Danny muttered, touching a hand to his head.

"And what happened to your leg?" Flack asked, glancing down at it.

Danny looked down at his knee and wondered what kind of damage was under there.

"I smashed it up a bit when I fell into the pool. I'll be fine. Come on, we need to keep moving," he said as he turned around. "Oh, fuck!"

"What?" asked Flack as he turned to see what Danny was staring at.

"Nothing," Danny quickly said as he tried the door handle. The door didn't budge. Somehow it had locked itself, or the house had locked it. Either way, they had no choice but to proceed.

"Danny, what's going on?" Flack asked worriedly.

"Flack, whatever you do, don't make a sound," Danny stated severely.

Flack frowned in confusion but nodded. He trusted Danny with his life. He turned and looked back into the room. At first glance he couldn't see what had got Danny so worked up. Yes, it was a little creepy but then so were all the rooms. They were standing behind a large wooden desk and before it were aisles of shelving containing various cages made of wire and glass that had different breeds of insects and animals trapped within them. Alive. Flack gulped as he saw a gigantic black spider spread across the glass side of one.

"Not a sound," hissed Danny again, staring at him for confirmation. Flack nodded solemnly.

They could both see the door on the other side of the room, it was slightly ajar but to get to it they would need to go through the aisles of cages.

"If we make it to the door, I know the way out," Danny whispered and Flack nodded again to show he'd heard.

Ever so slowly Danny stepped towards the cages and started making his way down one of the aisles. Please have no snakes in it, he prayed to himself. Flack watched him in silence and then stepped round the desk and proceeded down the next aisle, gulping every time he thought he saw movement in a cage. Some of the animals were awake. Mice stared at the two men passing by, their beady eyes looking at them greedily. Squirrels looked down at them from the higher shelves and two sleepy looking badgers followed them with their eyes. Suddenly Flack's chest made a loud squeak and both men froze, Danny staring at his companion in horror through the shelving.

"Flack..." he warned.

Flack yelped as he felt claws scratching into his skin and ripping it from his chest. He wrapped a strong hand around the rabbit and attempted to hold him firmly against him. Robert let out a loud squeal and struggled harder out of Flack's grasp. He slid down his body and tumbled onto the floor. Flack scrambled down to pick him up but the rabbit fled away and bounded through the slightly open door. Danny could only watch the scene unfolding in horror and then he heard a crash behind him and turned. A fox was standing in the aisle behind him, licking its lips.

"Oh fuck."

He ran.

Flack heard Danny's curse and straightened up to look at him when he saw the CSI surge forward at full pelt.

"Flack, run!" screamed Danny as creatures started flying at him.

Flack frowned in confusion. He couldn't understand what was happening and then suddenly he saw the two badgers in front of him in the aisle. He placed a hand on a shelf to steady himself and felt something crawl over it. He squealed and pulled it back, flicking whatever it was to the ground. All around him the glass was disappearing from the cages, the metal wiring was no longer there and the animals were beginning to stir, beginning to notice him, and they looked hungry.

Danny slammed into the wall at the far end of the room and fell to the floor. He hadn't had time to slow down as he'd run out from the aisles. He grasped the wall in an effort to pull himself upright but his head was pounding from when he'd fallen earlier on and his knee still ached. He felt his skin crawling and began brushing himself off, flicking anything that was on him to the ground and stamping his foot about trying to squash whatever they were.

"You okay, Flack?" Danny shouted as he turned, pulling out his gun, ready to aim at any larger animals should they come near him. He stared in horror as he saw Flack, still trapped within the aisles, slowly being surrounded by the creatures. He was about to go to him when he froze. In front of him was a humongous snake, its fat body slowly sliding after it as it approached him. Tongue darting out and softly hissing at him in anger.

"Messer! Help me!" shouted Flack as he stepped back from the badgers and turned, only to find two nasty looking dogs and a racoon behind him.

"Oh fuck," he shouted in a panic pulling out his gun, aiming to fire.

A screech echoed round him and a large, colourful bird flew at him, knocking the gun out of his hand. It slid away from him under the shelving and he stared hopelessly in the direction it had disappeared. He was never going to be able to get that back. Suddenly something launched itself at him and landed on his back, clinging to his skin with its claws. He could feel it start to gnaw away at him through his thin vest and he yelped in pain. Another one joined it, landing on his shoulder and chewing on his ear.

"Get off of me!" Flack screamed frantically and began swinging round wildly, hoping to fling them off.

He could see the smaller animals high up on the shelves launching themselves at him, trying to get a taste of him, nibbling on any part of his skin that was showing. Birds were joining in the fray, dive-bombing him as they circled overhead.

"Danno please!" he screamed again as he saw the larger animals start to pounce on him, trying to bite down on his legs. He hopped out of their way and tried to stumble down the aisle towards the exit but tripped over one of the badgers and fell. The creatures were all over him within seconds. He shrieked in fear and started kicking and punching with all his might as animals swarmed over him, pinning him to the ground.

Meanwhile Danny was having his own problems. Nothing terrified him more than snakes and right now he was faced with the largest one he'd ever seen in his life. It seemed to have been joined with all the other snakes in the room, as if they knew he was terrified of them. He knew he had to shoot his gun at them, knew he still had it clasped tight in his hand but he was terrified. Absolutely petrified. His worst nightmare was coming true.

"F...F...Flack?" he stuttered, praying the tall detective would come to his rescue.

But no-one came. No Flack appeared at his side and Danny knew he'd have to deal with this on his own. The snakes were slowly coming closer and Danny pressed himself further back into the wall. The door was only a foot to his left. He could make a run for it, get out of there and shut the door behind him, trapping the snakes... No. No. He couldn't leave Flack behind. He'd never leave Flack behind. If the animals didn't get him then the witch surely would. Flack had gone back to help him when he'd fallen, risking himself to save him even though they both knew he'd be the one who'd most likely come off worse if they were caught. Danny tightened his grip round his gun, sweat dripping down his forehead. Just where was Flack anyway? He momentarily tore his eyes away from the snakes and looked over into the aisles. Flack wasn't there. Nor were any of the animals. The shelves and cages were empty. It was just him and the snakes. The ever nearing snakes.

"DAAAANNNNOOOO..."

Danny jumped as a blood curdling cry sounded around the room. Flack's cry. Danny trembled as he stared at the snakes in front of him. One of the smaller ones of a brighter variety had reached his foot and he kicked out at it, flinging it back towards the group. The other snakes hissed in anger and Danny trembled again. Flack was in danger, he needed his help and yet he couldn't move. He really couldn't move. Another smaller snake was closing in on him and he wasn't sure if he had the courage to kick out at it again.

"AAARRGHHHH..."

Danny had to do something, it sounded like Flack was dying. His hand shook as he raised his gun and pointed it at the snakes. Flack was going to die if he didn't do something. Flack would never let anything happen to him. Flack had rescued him from the witch. He owed Flack his life. Now it was his turn to play the hero.

"Oh God..." he whispered and pulled the trigger.

His bullet slammed straight into the thick, pulsing body of the largest snake. The humongous snake fell heavily to the floor with a thump just as the smaller snake reared back and then sprung, teeth sinking deep into the tender flash of Danny's ankle.

"Argh!" Danny screamed as he flung it away with his foot.

The other snakes stared angrily at him for a moment and Danny fired off another shot at them. Then they slowly slid away, retreating out of sight under the shelves and Danny breathed a sigh of relief. Never in his life had he been so scared. He blinked and looked back up; trying to find Flack but found his vision was becoming fuzzy. His leg was starting to go numb where the small snake had bitten him and it was getting increasingly difficult to breathe. He'd been poisoned, no doubt about it. But he'd save Flack first, even if it was the last thing he ever did.

"Flack?" Danny choked as he surged forward as best he could and began to look down the aisles. The fact that he got no response petrified him. Was he too late?

"Flack!" Danny screamed , his eyes widening in fear as he saw the group of creatures on the floor all climbing on top of one another, scrabbling over each other, fighting to get a piece of whatever lay beneath them.

Danny fired off his gun into the air and some of the animals closer to him scarpered. It was only then that he saw a bloodied foot sticking out.

"Don!" Danny screamed as he stumbled forward, firing his gun off around the limp form of Flack so the animals would run.

The creatures started to scarper and Danny was relieved to hear Flack groan and pull himself up from the ground where he swayed slightly and then crashed into the shelves, leaning heavily against them. At least he was alive and conscious, Danny thought. He fired his gun again at the ground surrounding Flack, who seemed a little out of it, and the last remaining creatures fled. Danny could see nasty little bites all over the back of Flack's arms and neck and when he turned there were more covering the front of them and his face. Each bite and mark was bleeding slightly and his vest was in tatters from all the claws and teeth that had attacked him. His jeans were ripped too and the sock had gone from his shoeless foot which was now bloodied and looked slightly mangled. Danny took a step towards him but had to clutch onto a shelf for support as his legs gave way temporarily.

"Danno?" Flack murmured worriedly as he steadied himself and then straightened, hobbling towards the CSI.

"I'm here, Fl..." Danny paused and his eyes grew wide. "Flack...whatever you do, don't move."

"W..w..why?" Flack asked, freezing on the spot, his eyes round in fear.

"Just trust me, okay?" Danny said calmly. "Stay where you are, I'm coming to get you."

Flack wavered slightly and grabbed hold of a shelf for support. Danny steadily went towards him, clinging to the shelf to pull himself along.

"Focus on me, Don. Focus on my eyes," Danny smiled as he got closer.

"You smiling like that is creeping me out," Flack muttered as he stared at Danny stumbling towards him.

"Just keep on focusing on me," Danny said calmly as he got even nearer. "On me, Don. On me."

Flack suddenly caught movement out of the corner of his eye. Something black. Something on his shoulder. Something black was on his shoulder. Something...oh fuck...

"Da...Danno...is there...is there a spi...spider..." Flack didn't get to finish his sentence. He wavered again and Danny knew he was going to drop. He ran the rest of the way and threw the fat, black spider from Flack's shoulder as far as he could before catching the tall detective as he crashed to the ground. Danny's legs gave way and he fell with him, his lower half now completely paralysed from the snake venom.

"Come on, Flack," Danny slurred as he felt the toxin surging through his veins. "Don't do this to me."

The animals may have been frightened away by the gun but they'd return before long, Danny was sure of that. He gently slapped Flack on the cheek.

"Come on, Don. Wake up. I need you here. I can't move by myself. Don't leave me alone."

Flack's head lolled uselessly in his arms. Danny slapped the detective harder but he was completely out of it, his fear of spiders proving lethal.

"So help me God, Flack, if you don't...if you don't...if you..."

Danny never got to finish his sentence either. His vision turned cloudy...white and then he collapsed forward on top of the unconscious detective, his fear of snakes proving lethal.


	7. Chapter 6

A/N – BIG THANKS TO REVIEWERS! I see you were concerned and hankering for an update quickly. Well, I can safely say that I'm sure this chapter will put all your minds at ease...

* * *

Danny slowly came back to the world of the living, feeling pain shoot through his head as he brought it up from where it lolled against his chest. He blinked his eyes as he opened them, trying to focus on something in front of him. His entire body was hurting like hell; knee, calf, chest, head. Everything in front of him was fuzzy, just blurry shapes and he closed his eyes again, head dropping back to his chest. What the hell had happened? He remembered the snakes. God, so many snakes! Their revolting, slithering bodies all sliding towards him. Their tongues darting out and that petrifying hissing sound they made. Danny opened his mouth and breathed in a deep lungful of air. What had happened to the snakes? Oh yes, he'd shot at them. But one had bitten him. He'd been bitten and he should have died...why wasn't he dead? And what about Flack...Oh God, Flack?! Where the hell was Flack? Danny brought his head up again...too quickly. He gulped in the air as he felt nausea come over him. He could see shapes in front of him and he blinked his eyes again and again until his vision started to clear. It was only then that he became aware he was tied to a chair, his hands secured behind his back and a coil of rope wound round his chest and the back of the chair. He struggled against it but his efforts proved fruitless and he looked up for some sort of help as his vision finally cleared.

Facing him on another chair sat Flack, tied in a similar manner and looking petrified out of his mind. His face was drained of any colour and his body was covered in angry looking sores and bites that the creatures had inflicted upon him. Some of them were still bleeding and Danny hoped that none of them had been poisonous like the snakes. Flack wasn't looking at him but at something over his shoulder and Danny tried to turn, to see what it was. They were in a room that looked rather like the crypt he'd found himself in earlier that day. Except there were no tombs or coffins in this room. Instead it had been set up like a laboratory. Glass dishes, experiment equipment and test-tubes covered the sides. Strange machines whirred around them and shelves were loaded with jars full with nasty things. Body parts; ears, eyeballs, noses, tongues, toes, fingers, numerous hands and feet, a good few brains and even, much to Danny's dismay, parts of a gentleman's anatomy that should never, ever be separated from him. Other jars held strange herbs and leaves, some contained powders, liquids, oils, curds and yet more were oddly luminous or glowing. Dead creatures; spiders, snakes, worms, lizards, birds, rats, squirrels and many others had also been collected in jars. It looked like a witch's kitchen. It probably was a witches kitchen, Danny mused. The thought that he'd drunk her tea earlier in the day suddenly brought the feeling of nausea back over him and he retched. Flack had been right; never accept tea from little old ladies.

Danny looked at Flack again and tried to smile reassuringly at him when he saw the detective was looking at him. It didn't work. Flack looked just as scared as ever. Maybe it was because he could see something behind Danny that he couldn't see himself. No doubt he would find out what that was before too long. Danny looked round at the other side of the room and noticed a playful blue fire dancing away to his right. A huge cauldron was set on top of it and Danny wondered if anything was in it. He smirked to himself for a moment as he considered how cliché it was for a witch to have a cauldron. She probably had a broomstick somewhere too and a black pointed hat. There was a counter nearby and Danny caught sight of his and Flack's phones, guns, badges and wallets on top of it. Now they really were helpless. Danny jumped as he felt something stroke past his leg and he looked down to see Prince Patrick stalking past him, a high and mighty look on his face, if cats could even look high and mighty. Suddenly Flack squeaked and Danny looked up at him, he could feel something moving behind him.

"I see you're finally awake now, my Denny."

The witch. She floated past him and hovered by her cauldron, stirring it with a giant ladle and grinning at him.

"How the hell am I not dead right now?" Danny demanded, knowing that a bite from a poisonous snake should have been deadly.

"The venom?" she asked. "Yes, I extracted it from you and gave you an antidote before too much damage was done."

"So I'll live?" Danny wanted to know. He needed to know he'd be well enough to escape and get both himself and Flack out of there alive.

"Of course you'll live, Denny. I wouldn't want anything to happen to my beautiful boy."

"As I told you before, it's Danny!" he muttered angrily. He looked back at Flack, wondering why the detective wasn't saying anything. Normally Flack had a lot to say about everything...too much sometimes.

"No, no...it's Denny. Or it will be shortly anyway..."

Danny's eyes widened in horror and he gulped down a breath. What the hell was this crazy bitch planning? What was she going to do to him? He wasn't her son and he didn't want to be. He liked being Danny Messer.

"I've waited so long for you to return to me," she said madly as she moved away from the cauldron and got very near to him.

"Every night...every day I prayed. I knew you were out there, lost, on your own in the big wide world. I sent out my minions to search for you but they failed. I put them to death for that," she smiled.

Danny grimaced. He didn't even want to know what she was talking about. She reached out with a calloused hand and gently stroked a finger down his face and he shivered. God, he felt sick.

"But it won't be long now. Just a few more ingredients for the potion and then you'll be yourself again."

"I am myself," retorted Danny. "I'm Danny Messer from Staten Island, forty years old and am nothing to do with you or your loony son!"

She smirked at him evilly and then returned to her cauldron, stirring it again.

Danny breathed deeply and then looked back at Flack who seemed absolutely terrified. Danny had never seen the usually tough talking, sarcastic detective like this and it scared him.

"What have you done to Flack?" Danny growled as he locked eyes with the tall detective.

The witch put down the ladle and approached them again, only this time she went over to Flack and paused behind him so she could still see Danny. She ran her hands through his hair and he shivered.

"I've done nothing to your darling Ron. As I told you, the house has kept him safe for me," she smiled.

"It's Don!" Danny screamed at her but she just laughed in a high, unnatural way. Danny felt another shiver run down his spine.

"I know that. I know exactly who you are. Both of you. I just like to have my fun."

"Oh, well. In that case I hope you're enjoying yourself," Danny said sarcastically. "Oh, and FYI, your fucked up house didn't keep either of us safe for you. It tried to kill us!"

The witch frowned at him and turned from Flack. He looked slightly better now that she'd removed her hands from his hair. The witch moved back to her cauldron and stirred it again. She seemed to be deep in thought and she looked pissed. Danny wondered if she was speaking to the house...or whether he was going utterly insane for thinking that she could.

"I'll deal with you later," she muttered angrily.

Danny frowned and glanced at Flack. He could tell that the lanky detective didn't have a clue as to what was going on either.

"I said I'll deal with you later! Do not answer back. I have more important things to... How dare you speak to me like that!"

Danny looked in astonishment at the crazy woman stirring the cauldron and talking to herself. He almost laughed at how funny it was and he turned to Flack and smirked, shrugging his shoulders. Flack did the same in response and they grinned at each other. Danny knew Flack was okay, however, it still worried him that the detective hadn't spoken.

"I'll deal with you later after I return my son to his body. This imposter has been living in it for the past forty years," snapped the witch, briefly glancing up at Danny.

Danny's jaw dropped open in horror and he could see his look mirrored on Flack's face.

"What are you going to do to me?" Danny asked nervously

She turned to look at him and he could tell she was angry. Whatever the house had said to her it had pissed her off.

"I'm going to bring you back to me," she replied and disappeared off behind the cauldron.

Both men watched as she pressed a button on the wall and immediately a loud whirring noise sounded and then stopped again. It was only then that Danny noticed the silver doors she was standing beside. They slid open and inside was the horror that Flack had described earlier. The glass case containing Denzel Caudwell. She wheeled it out and stood it next to the cauldron and Danny stared at it. It was uncanny. The man looked almost exactly like him. This was so sick it was unreal. Danny wanted to get out of there more than anything in the world but right at that moment; he had no idea how to accomplish that. He struggled against his bonds again but to no avail. He was well and truly stuck, and Flack looked just as stuck as he was. They were trapped and at the mercy of this evil witch. A sentence which Danny never once thought he'd think in his entire life.

"So here we are," the witch said, breaking into his thoughts. "It won't be long now until you're one. I kept him safe with me for so long...but now you're here and he can finally get into his new body."

"Look, I'm in my body!" Danny said exasperatedly. "I'm me. Me in my body. No-one else. No-one!"

"Yes, but not for much longer."

Danny stared at her in astonishment. Why didn't she understand? He was him and no-one else was him.

"But he's already got a body," Danny exclaimed, nodding to the glass case.

"His old one, yes. But I have to keep him alive and it's a lot of work. I've been waiting until I could find him a new body. I did try out a few before but they were all so...disappointing. Denny got quite angry with me. But you...you're the one. So alike...so perfect," she smiled.

Danny couldn't understand it. She was crazy. That was all there was to it. And Danny now had a nasty feeling that whatever she was planning may well actually work. So much had happened since they'd arrived that he couldn't explain that he was slowly but surely starting to believe in the magic and now he was scared that he might actually be removed from his body.

"Where will I go then if he's in me?" Danny asked. He couldn't hide the scared tinge to his voice.

The witch tilted her head at him in amusement. "Oh, I'll save your essence on one of my shelves," she said, nodding to the glowing jars. "I'm sure it'll come in useful one day."

Danny gulped. So he was going to end up in a jar on a shelf in a witch's laboratory for the rest of his life, if he'd even still be alive. So much for Flack saying he'd be safe cos she liked him.

"And what about Flack?" Danny asked. He was getting increasingly concerned about the detective, the longer he didn't speak. He wasn't gagged in any way as far as Danny could see, so Flack should be able to talk to him.

"Oh I have my uses for him," she laughed and then started stirring her cauldron again.

"Flack? Are you okay? Talk to me!" Danny asked worriedly to his friend.

Flack just stared at him with wide eyes and looking scared.

"Oh, he can't talk right now," the witch replied. "He's got a filthy mouth on him, don't you know?"

Danny stared at her in confusion. "What?"

"No respect for his elders..." she mumbled.

"Why can't he speak?"

"He's been conscious for a lot longer than you have," she informed him. "I got tired of his voice rather quickly and shut him up."

"What did you do to him?" Danny near shouted.

"Oh for goodness sake, he's quite well, take a look for yourself."

She snapped her fingers and all at once Flack's mouth fell open and he gulped for air.

"Flack!" Danny shouted.

"M'okay, Mess," Flack mumbled as he panted and wheezed, tongue darting out to lick dry lips.

"I told you," the witch laughed and she disappeared off behind him. "Now what's next? Ah, hair from the body."

She came forward and yanked a few hairs out of Danny's head.

"Ouch!" cried Danny angrily.

"You leave him alone," coughed Flack, glaring up at her.

She ignored him and opened the glass case, pulling out some hairs from Denzel. She added both to the cauldron and stirred it up.

"Danno, you okay?" Flack asked across the room, seemingly uncaring about the witch.

"Yeah. What did she do to you?" Danny asked worriedly.

"I dunno. But I couldn't open my mouth," Flack replied. He glared at her again. "We'll get out of here, Mess!"

The witch laughed loudly as she went back to behind Danny and he heard pages turning.

"Ah of course, a virgin's toe," she smiled.

She drifted over to a table and picked up a pair of secateurs. The two men watched her in sick fascination. Then she turned and stared at Flack.

"I knew you'd come in useful," she smiled.

Flack's eyes widened in panic and he made a noise that Danny could only describe as a loud squeak. He started trying to squirm away in his chair as she approached him.

"Look, lady...or whatever the fuck you are...I think you've got the wrong idea here. I ain't no virgin," Flack clarified.

If the situation hadn't been so dire, Danny would have laughed at the fact that Flack sounded much more insulted about being called a virgin, rather than worried that he was about to lose his toe.

"But you're not married," the witch said, pausing and frowning at him.

"Well...no...but..."

"Then it's fine," she laughed and continued toward him.

"Just cos I'm not married doesn't mean I'm a virgin!" squeaked Flack as she made a grab for his toe. It was unfortunate that he'd lost the shoe and sock to one of his feet as this made her job a great deal easier.

"Leave him alone," yelled Danny. "Look, it's me you want. You need me for your son. Just let him go!"

She ignored his pleas and tried to grab Flack's foot. Flack squealed and kicked out at her, trying to move it away from her grasp.

"Hold still!" she shouted angrily and grabbed his foot. Flack's eyes widened in horror as she put the secateurs around his big toe and started closing them. Then she paused, a second away from completely severing his toe from his foot and started examining it.

"Oh dear, what a shame!"

"W...w..what's a shame?" stammered Flack.

"It's been contaminated. Something's chewed on it. I can't use it. It's useless." she threw down his foot and moved away.

Flack thought he'd never been so grateful in his life to have been half eaten by animals.

"Such a shame it wasn't your other foot but I need a left toe for the recipe."

Flack couldn't help but look rather pleased with himself, he'd unintentionally ruined part of her plan and it felt like a small victory. The witch disappeared over to the shelves to get a toe out of a jar instead.

"And I do like to use fresh..." she muttered to herself, shaking her head.

Danny growled angrily at her in the back of his throat. He was getting sick and tired of all this. He just couldn't believe any of this was really happening; it was like a bad dream that wouldn't go away. Witches didn't exist, magic talking houses didn't exist, cages that disappeared and ghostly voices simply didn't exist. She must have drugged the tea and that was why he'd seen so many inexplicable things. Elizabeth Caudwell was insane, that was clearly the logical answer here. She'd lived by herself, away from civilisation for far too long and had gone potty, believing she could do magic. However, the danger to them was still imminent. She had killed all those people upstairs and if she genuinely believed she could merge her son with him then he might well end up dead too. Fortunately, Flack seemed to have unintentionally foiled her plans for him and was no longer any use. Perhaps Danny could somehow plead for her to let him go. One of them needed to survive this mess.

"Look, you don't need him now so you can just let him go!" Danny shouted, trying to protect Flack.

Flack stared at him furiously. "Oh no she doesn't, I'm not leaving without you, Danno."

"Yes you are. She doesn't need you now so you can just leave. Go get some help, get Mac and then come back and burn this place to the ground!"

"I'm not leaving without you!" stated Flack obstinately.

"You're so fucking stubborn!" shouted Danny angrily. "Just go. I would!"

"No you wouldn't!" snorted Flack. "You'd stay and get your dumb ass into even more trouble."

"You were in trouble first!" Danny retorted.

"No I wasn't," scoffed Flack. "I was fine. I had to spend my whole time searching this wretched place for you! I would have been out of here hours ago if it wasn't for you!"

"I think you'll find it was actually the other way round, and that I was looking for you," Danny snarked.

"Well you needn't have bothered," Flack said indignantly. "I was fine."

"Well so was I," Danny snapped back. "I wasn't the one who had to be rescued from an itty bitty, scary spider and a load of fluffy animals!"

"Oh and great job you did there, by the way," Flack shouted crossly, "and those animals were not fluffy, you were scared of them too, especially the snakes...and may I remind you that I wasn't the one who fell over and needed to be rescued!"

"I could have got back up myself," Danny said huffily.

"You were peeing your pants like a little crybaby," Flack snapped.

"Well at least I didn't get stuck in a corridor for an hour, or get attacked by a kittycat!"

Flack stared in rage at Danny. "Well I wasn't the one who got attacked by a bird or fell into a swimming pool!"

"Well..."

"ENOUGH!"

The two men stared round at the witch who was looking at them furiously. "You two are like a couple five year olds!"

Danny nearly laughed as Flack still managed to look rather insulted, despite their current situation.

"Better a couple five year olds than a crazy old loon!" Flack replied sarcastically.

Danny snorted in laughter. "Hey, Flack man, I'm sorry."

Flack looked at him and smiled. "I'm sorry too, Mess," he grinned.

"How touching," the witch said in a fakely-pleasant tone. "Now if we could get back to the matter in hand. Nobody is leaving!"

"Why, you don't need him," Danny persisted.

Flack glared at him as the witch approached the tall detective again and stroked a hand down his face. Flack looked like he was going to puke. Danny thought it might be funny if he did, all over her face.

"Such a fine specimen," she murmured. "No, I have plans for him."

"What?" Danny growled.

The witch ignored him and started examining Flack's body. "Ah, I see you've been playing with my tulip," she smiled, noticing the luminous spots on his arm.

"Tulip?! That was no fucking tulip, lady," Flack growled, attempting to pull his head away from her calloused hand.

"What are you going to do with him?" Danny interrupted.

The witch sighed irritably and turned to face Danny. "You know you're nearly as annoying as he is."

"Thank you," Danny said proudly.

"But much more handsome," she murmured.

Danny once again looked at Flack who looked like he was about to throw a hissy fit. Danny could make out the tall detective mumbling to himself, no doubt disagreeing with her last statement.

"Tell me," Danny said firmly.

The witch smiled. "Once the transition is complete, my Denny will need sustenance. He'll be weak from all his years spent inside a dying body. He'll need human blood and flesh to make him strong. And a virgin is the most pure and nutritious there is."

Danny's jaw dropped open and he stared in horror. Flack no longer looked grumpy but had blanched and was looking equally as horrified, probably even more so.

"You're going to eat me?" he squeaked.

Danny wondered if he was going to faint again.

"It will be a feast of celebration," the witch said, turning back to Flack. "And you will have the most important role. It will be an honour."

"Oh, come on!" he muttered exasperatedly. "And enough with the virgin stuff. I told you, I'm not...most definitely not!"

Flack looked past the witch at Danny whose jaw still hung open in a gormless manner. He had run out of ideas. Danny was going to be turned into some glowing shit in a jar for the rest of his life and he was going to end up as dinner for the crazies. He shook his head in despair. And what was it with things trying to eat him? First the house had given it a good attempt, then that stupid plant had tried it on. Next all those crazy animals had tucked into him and now this stupid bitch and her supposedly alive son would be having a go. He suddenly remembered a vague memory he'd had of wondering what it would be like to be cooked alive like a lobster. God, that had only been that morning! It seemed like a lifetime ago. Funny how he'd be finding out exactly how the lobster felt before too long. Flack let out a whimper and once again struggled against his bonds. He didn't want to be eaten. This wasn't how he'd pictured his death at all. Maybe he'd be shot at some point, or even stabbed but certainly not cooked to death. He glanced nervously at the cauldron.

"Oh dear, you mustn't worry. This is just for the potion," the witch soothed as she followed his gaze. "The celebration feast must be served raw so that all the nutrients remain in the body."

Flack swore his heart stopped beating. "Raw?" he squeaked.

"Yes, raw, my dear. And you do look delicious," she said, her eyes glowing green.

Flack looked helplessly at Danny who shook his head and shrugged. It seemed both of them were to succumb to a dreadful fate and there was no way to escape. No-one was coming to their rescue and even if they did, they wouldn't be able to find them inside the house in time. There was no hope at all for the two detectives.

* * *

A/N - ...or maybe not. ;-)


	8. Chapter 7

A/N – Warning for this chapter! - Darkest of the entire story and deals with upsetting/unsettling themes. Please read with care.

(Also massive spoilers for the Wizard of Oz if you've never seen it.)

* * *

The witch turned from them and started bustling around the room, reading the pages of her recipe book, collecting up ingredients and continuing on in her work. The two men tied in the middle of the room no longer watched her, no longer tried to plea for their lives. She was completely and utterly insane and there would be no reasoning with a person like that. Their only hope was that she might untie one of them before they were killed and they might manage to escape.

Danny let his head flop down to his chest again. His whole body ached painfully. Ankle from where the snake had bitten him, knee from falling in the pool, head from falling in the corridor and chest from the bird scratching him. On top of that all his joints and muscles ached in general from trekking through the undergrowth, climbing up all those stairs, running miles through the house and generally taking a beating. So this was it. This was the end. Danny had always wondered how his time would come, he'd already had so many close shaves before. That thing with Shane Casey...God, that had been a close one. Twice. If it hadn't been for the others the first time, and then Lindsay the second there'd be no doubt he'd be dead. And then there was the shooting at the bar. He remembered the moment when he'd suddenly become aware that he couldn't feel his legs. That had been the scariest moment of his entire life at the time. Danny felt a tear role down his cheek as he lost himself in his memories. How would Lindsay cope if he was gone? How would she manage with Lucy and the new baby on the way? He knew Mac and Jo would look after her, all the others would support her and she still had her dad left, and his Ma.

Danny felt more tears drop down his face and was glad he was looking down, so Flack wouldn't see him cry. Flack had promised to take care of his family should anything happen to him. After his Ma, Flack was the closest living thing he had to a relative. A brother in so many ways. But Flack would die here too. And Danny couldn't bear thinking of his wife being left alone with two small children and no husband. He remembered the first time he knew he'd fallen in love with her. It was long before he'd found out about the baby...about Lucy. They'd been working a crimescene together. Flack had been there too, somewhere in the background talking to some officers or witnesses. Danny couldn't really remember, he hadn't seen Flack, he'd only had eyes for Montana. She'd been working slightly further away from him, bent over on the ground and he'd been cheekily checking out her ass. Then she'd straightened up with a piece of trace clasped between her tweezers. She looked round at him in excitement, seen him staring and smiled, completely unaware of what he'd been doing. So beautiful and so innocent. Danny had suddenly felt something stir inside him. Something he'd never felt before and something he couldn't quite explain. The background fell away to darkness and in his mind's eye all he could see was her beautiful face, delicate features, soft, brown eyes that sparkled in the sunlight and that exquisite smile, the one that took his breath away every time. God, he'd loved her then...and even more so now. He'd die for her without a doubt...for all his family. He'd do anything for them and the thought that they'd be left alone, that he'd never got the chance to say goodbye, that his last words to his wife had been, 'Well I hope you enjoy staying at my Ma's cos maybe I don't want you back,'...even meant as a joke...broke his heart.

Flack stared down at the ground before him and looked at his mangled foot, covered in blood and God knows what else. It hurt like a bitch, as did his abdomen which had been badly bruised by that creeper winding itself around him. He wasn't sure, but it felt like it might have cracked some of his ribs too. All over his body he could feel small pinpricks of pain from where the animals had bitten into his flesh and it would have worried him that he might have contracted something from them, if he wasn't about to be eaten alive. With any luck he had caught something and then he'd pass it on to that bitch and her son so that they'd die and no-one else would ever have to live through what he was experiencing. He wondered how on Earth he'd even managed to get into this mess. Only a few hours ago he had been laughing and joking back in the lab with his friends, completely unaware that this would be the day he died. In hindsight he'd take a crappy day questioning awful tenants in boiling heat over this any day...he'd even take the dog peeing on him over this. He'd probably jinxed himself by believing no day could be worse than the one he'd lived yesterday. And yet, this wasn't the worst day he'd experienced. No, when he truly thought about it, he'd lived through much worse before. Flack gasped in a small breath and blinked back his tears. The day he'd murdered a man in cold blood...now that really had been the worst day he'd lived through. Murdered a defenceless man, who may not have been innocent, but no more deserved to die by his hand than anyone else. And now he was to get his comeuppance for that sin...the sin of murder and perhaps finally find the redemption he still craved in the process.

Flack once again tried to blink back his tears as he remembered the day that had caused him to become a murderer. He'd never forget that day, he'd been in such a good mood when he'd got to work, it had seemed he was finally moving on with his life. Gone were the days of the womanizing rake and his pretentious girlfriends. In his place existed a man who was truly in love...happily in love...and complete. He'd died a little bit that day, no-one had understood...how could they? Only Mac had looked at him with some sort of comprehension of what he was feeling. Only Mac knew what it was like to lose the one person who made your world...who made your life worth living. The idea of dying didn't scare him all that much anyway, it never had. He'd faced so many guns, knives and all other manner of weapons that he'd almost become immune to their reality. No, it was the how and why of his imminent death that scared him, but after...maybe after he'd finally be at peace. He wasn't like Danny, he didn't have a family to live for. Even Adam and Hawkes had girlfriends but he...well...no one could ever replace Jess. How could they? Flack felt tears burning a trail down his face as he thought of the woman he still held so dear in his heart. He should have told her he loved her...he should have told her...why hadn't he? Perhaps today at long last he would get the chance to.

"Oh, darn it. I've run out of scorpion tails," the witch moaned to herself. "And all my pets are roaming free upstairs thanks to you two!"

She glared at the two men who sat lost in their own thoughts, completely unaware she was even talking to them.

"I'll just have to go and round them up," she muttered angrily and floated from the room, slamming and locking the door behind her.

The loud bang of the door echoed through Danny's mind and he blinked, raising his head to look around him. The witch had gone.

"Flack?" he croaked as he looked at the man opposite him. Flack seemed to be in some sort of trance; his eyes glazed over and his face stained with tears.

"Flack?" Danny shouted louder. Still no response. This was their chance; they needed to get out of there before the witch returned. "Flack!"

Flack stirred and his eyes slowly came up to meet Danny's. "Mess?"

"Flack, we need to get out of here," Danny said hurriedly, struggling against the ropes.

Flack blinked and looked around. The witch wasn't there. She'd disappeared for the time being and if they were to make an escape this was probably their one and only chance.

"Flack, come on!" Danny urged as he struggled harder. Flack wasn't doing anything, he was just sitting their staring solemnly around the room.

"I think I'm meant to be here," Flack said quietly, looking back at Danny.

Danny stopped struggling and his eyes widened in shock. "What?"

"I think I'm meant to be here...I mean, I think I'm meant to die," Flack murmured.

Danny had to swallow three times to stop himself from being sick. "Don, why are you saying this?" he asked worriedly.

"Because I deserve it."

Danny almost didn't know what to say. Fear clutched at his heart, Flack was giving up...Flack was giving up! "Don, don't be stupid. Course you don't deserve to die," Danny said, plastering a fake smile over his face.

Flack wasn't buying it. "I killed a man, Danno. I know you know. I don't have the right to take away a life no matter what he did. Only God has that right."

Danny felt tears forming again in his eyes. "Don, please...please don't give up. What's done is done, you can't change it. Cade was a bad man, the worst, who knows how many people he killed. You were just doing your job!"

"It's not my job to kill people, Danno. My job is to save them."

"And you do! Just think how many people you've saved over the years, Don. Since you became a cop..."

"It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter how many people I save, it'll still never cancel out the fact I murdered someone."

Danny stared desperately at is friend. How on Earth could he get him to see sense? To realise the value and importance of his life?

"Don, you can't really believe you deserve to die?" Danny choked.

Flack stared at him silently, tears running down his face before he spoke. "I want to be with Jess, Danno. Every day...every day it's a struggle to live without her. I see you happy with Lindsay, Hawkes with Camille, Adam with Michelle, Mac with Christine...and even Jo and Sid have this special friendship bond between them. Who do I have?"

"Everyone goes through low points in their life, Don. Doesn't mean that they should just give up!"

"The only relationship I've had since Jess was with Jamie and that didn't last long...it's like my life is a continuous low point."

"Stop it!" Danny finally said, desperate and losing his rag. "Just stop it. What you're saying is so fucking ridiculous!"

Flack looked angrily at him. "Oh just fuck off then, Messer. You wouldn't even understand would you? You've got your perfect wife, perfect family...you've never once known what it was like to lose someone you love!"

"I LOST LOUIE!" Danny screamed.

Flack was taken aback by the pure emotion that raged from the CSI. He opened his mouth to speak and then closed it again. Then he repeated the action.

"Don't you dare tell me I don't understand what it's like to lose someone you love because I lost the one person I loved more than anything in the world at the time. Louie was a brother and a father to me, he saved me from a life of crime and he was killed for it. It was my fault, Don, don't you get that? It was my fault he died and I've been living with that ever since," Danny shouted. "Oh, and FYI I would just love to fuck off right now but I'm kinda stuck here in case you hadn't noticed."

"It's not the same," Flack said bitterly. "It's not the same. I've lost my dad and mum...but it's not the same as someone you're in love with."

"It's exactly the same," Danny snapped. "And you're a shallow bastard if you don't get that. You think Jess would want you to just give up? I mean, what if you'd died and she was thinking like you are? You'd be shouting down at her, telling her what idiot she was!"

"She wouldn't have murdered anyone like I did."

Danny blinked at him. Nothing was working, nothing was getting through to Flack and they were wasting precious time. The witch would be returning soon and they needed to get out of there.

"Then stay alive for me, Don," Danny murmured, tears reappearing in his eyes.

Flack's eyes widened at Danny's sincerity.

"I love you so much I can't explain..." Danny said softly. "You're my brother, Don. Maybe not by blood, but you're my brother and I need you. Don't make me lose another one."

"Danno..." Flack said sadly.

"I just...if I lost you my life would be so much worse. We're so similar, Don, it's like you're an extension of myself. All the bits I'm missing; the wit, the charm, the strength, those extra few inches I never grew... If I lost you it'd be the same as if I cut off my own arm. I'd rather be back in that chair again than live without you. I need you, Don... I need you!"

Flack blinked the tears from his eyes. "Danno, you know I love you too...you know I think of you as a brother...but..."

"But what Don? You're not thinking straight. You're scared, overwrought, been kidnapped by a crazy cannibal, survived God knows what today, been threatened with mutilation and death, attacked by everything under the sun. You're bound to go to a safe place within yourself to protect yourself from everything that's happened. That's what I did...I went to my family. And you went to yours...you went to Jess. But she wouldn't want you to think like this. She'd want you to get on with your life like you have been."

"It's so hard, Danno," Flack cried. "Even after all this time..."

Danny looked at Don sympathetically. How his heart bled for his young friend that he cared for so deeply.

"I know it is, Don. But I will always be here for you. You need to talk to me more, tell me what's going on with you. It's no good to keep your feelings bottled up inside. It ends up making you go crazy. Take witch-bitch for example..."

Flack nodded his head as tears fell from his eyes.

"Don, look at me..."

Flack blinked and stared up at Danny.

"I love you, Don. I wouldn't have spent all afternoon traipsing round this house, scared out of my mind you were dead if I didn't," Danny began to cry. "Please don't give up, Don...please. I'm begging you..."

"Danno..." Flack cried too. "I...I... I won't, Danno...thank you...I'm so lucky to have you."

Danny smiled slightly through his tears. "You'll always have me, Don. As long as we get out of here."

Flack nodded and then started struggling against his bonds. Danny felt relief wash over him as Flack began to fight for his life. He wasn't giving up, Danny had got through to him.

"It's no use," Flack sniffed. "I can't get out."

"Me neither," Danny muttered. "But we gotta keep on trying."

Flack nodded and struggled again, getting increasingly more fidgety and violent. Danny did the same until he felt the rope cutting into his skin. He looked back at Flack whose chair was rocking precariously from side to side as he struggled.

"Flack, look out!" Danny yelled in warning as the chair tipped over and the detective fell to the ground.

"Ouch!" Flack huffed as he landed on his side. "What the hell are we gonna do? I can't get free!"

Danny looked around hopelessly. There was nothing to help them. "Maybe we could throw some water at her?"

Flack stared at Danny incredulously. "That, is a stupid idea."

"Well it worked in the Wizard of Oz," Danny said huffily.

"Oh and I'll just click my red heels together and we'll be home," Flack snarked.

"Yeah, except you've only got one shoe..." Danny pointed out.

"And we haven't got any water either!" Flack said bitingly.

Even though Danny knew Flack was right, he couldn't help but feel a little happier. If Flack was back to his usual sarcastic wit then it meant he was back to his usual self. No more, depressive thoughts and that cheered Danny up immensely. Suddenly they heard the door being unlocked and then the witch floated back into the room carrying a jar of scorpions. She paused as she saw Flack on the floor.

"Stupid boy," she muttered. "I don't want you damaging yourself for my Denny."

"Like I give a shit, lady," Flack retorted and Danny grinned.

The witch ignored his rude reply and busied herself with the rest of her potion, adding in the scorpion tail and then giving it one last stir.

"Good, good," she murmured happily. "All ready for my beautiful son."

Danny's face became serious again as he realised the implications of what this meant. The potion was ready. Time for him to be forced from him body and Flack to be served up as dinner. The witch ladled out two glasses of the drink and took one over to the statue of her son. She carefully poured the liquid down his throat and immediately he started glowing a luminous, shimmering purple. Danny felt his heart in his throat as he realised his time had finally come. Death had finally come a calling. The witch floated over with the second glass and loomed over him, grinning down at his face.

"Now, my dear. You will drink this otherwise I shall hurt your friend."

Danny's eyes widened in horror. "But I thought you said you didn't want him damaged for..."

"Yes, yes, I know what I said. I don't want him damaged... but if it's necessary..."

"Don't you do it, Danno. I'll be fine," Flack shouted. He jumped as Prince Patrick brushed against the back of his hands. Damn that wretched animal, Flack thought as he tried to crane his neck round to see.

"Drink this or I'll cut out his tongue!" the witch screamed at Danny.

"Don't do it!" shouted Flack.

"Wasn't planning to," Danny replied.

"I'll give you until three," the witch shrieked.

Danny pursed his lips closed and turned his head. No way was he drinking that shit, absolutely no way in hell. Flack struggled to get free, to try and save Danny from the witch. Suddenly he found that he could move his arms, that the rope was falling from around him. He shifted slightly and almost let out a yelp of surprise. Robert! It wasn't Prince Patrick at all who he'd felt brush against him. The fluffy little bunny had gnawed through the ropes, releasing him from his bonds. Flack smiled at him and then turned his attention back to the witch. This was his chance, while she still had her back to him.

"DRINK IT NOW!" she screeched.

Flack slowly crept up, he didn't have time to grab anything so hopefully his fist would do. He raised his arm back and...smack!

The witch howled as she turned to face him, pure fury radiating from her face.

"Oh, shit," Flack gulped.

She smacked him across the face and he stumbled backwards but managed to regain his balance before he fell.

"Will you just die already!" Flack yelled and he forced his entire weight into her as he shoved her back with such a force that she crashed back into her cauldron and toppled into it. A nasty hissing sound emanated from it and smoke started pouring over the top. For a moment, no-one moved, both men staring in shock at the scene before them.

"Mess!" Flack shouted and ran forward to release his friend. He made little work of the ropes and in a matter of seconds Danny was free.

"Don," Danny shouted in delight at finally being free and grabbed the detective before he could move away and hugged him tight. "If you ever...and I mean ever...fucking do that to me again, I will kill you myself! That's a promise," he ground out.

"I'm so sorry, Danno. I won't," Flack murmured apologetically. "That's a promise."

"Good. Now let's get out of here," Danny shouted. He grabbed up their belongings off the table, handing Flack his gun whilst the tall detective scooped Robert up from off the floor. He hugged the small rabbit to his chest and briefly petted it happily before turning back to Danny.

"This way," he shouted as he ran to the elevator and held it open for Danny.

"Why the elevator?" Danny asked as Flack punched the button to close the doors and ride upwards.

"Cos if we get out in Denzel's bedroom, I know the way back to the stairs and then out of this place," Flack replied, cuddling his bunny.

As the doors closed they took their last glimpse of Elizabeth Caudwell, still stuck in her own disgusting potion, surrounded by grey and red smoke, and then they were lurching upwards towards the first floor.

"Yes!" cheered Flack as the doors opened in the closet. "First time lucky."

"That doesn't sound like us," Danny quipped as he followed Flack out of the elevator and through the closet and bedroom to the hallway.

"Perhaps the house is helping us. Perhaps it got pissed at the witch for shouting at it," suggested Flack. All over his body the bites were tingling as he ran and his bloodied foot hurt like a bitch. Talk about running through the pain!

"Who cares, let's just get out of here," Danny replied. He could feel his knee grating and his swollen ankle jolting in pain but ignored it. He'd deal with them when they got out of the house.

They made it to the landing and started to run round the banisters to the stairs. Suddenly there was a loud bang and smoke started flooding the hallway and landing. In the middle of the stairs stood the witch, hair blackened with flames, skin melting away from her face and body and eyes a gleaming red. She looked positively revolting as her flesh dribbled to the floor.

"No-one gets away from me!" she snarled as she advanced on them.

The two men took a step backwards; they were so close to their freedom they could almost taste it. But the witch was in their way, and they would have no choice but to retreat back into the house, knowing that if they did that, there was a large possibility that they would get lost again, get attacked again or that the witch would find them. No, now was the time for fight not flight, even if it meant dying right there and then. Suddenly, before either man could move, the sandy bunny sprung from Flack's arms and straight into the face of the witch, scrabbling at her melted flesh with its claws and gnawing at her eyes. She shrieked in pain.

"ROBERT!" screamed Flack as he advanced towards the witch to try and save the small rabbit.

"No, Flack!" Danny shouted, grabbing the detective and pulling him away. "We need to go!"

"But Robert..." Flack said, looking wildly round at him.

"GO!" screamed Danny.

"Aaarrrggghhh!" the witch screeched again, she took a step backwards trying to prise the rabbit from her face and stumbled on the stairs. She screamed as she lost her balance and fell against the banister, teetering on the brink for a moment before toppling over into the darkness below, the tiny rabbit going with her.

"ROBERT!" Flack screamed again, making to go after him.

"NO, WE HAVE TO LEAVE NOW!" Danny yelled and grabbed Flack's hand, pulling him down the stairs behind him.

The two men sprinted to the front door and Danny yanked on the handle, praying it would open for them. Maybe Flack was right, maybe the house was trying to help them now, but whatever it was the door opened with ease and the two detectives ran out into the bright sunlight.

* * *

A/N - But it had a happy ending...right?

Only one more chapter and an epilogue to go folks.


	9. Chapter 8

A/N – This chapter is dedicated to all followers, favouriters and especially reviewers of this story. I had the most awful amount of trouble writing this chapter and it's ended up being my favourite one.

I should also say this story is set after season 9, like my other one, but I thought you probably would have got that as there was mention of episode 9x06 in the prologue.

* * *

Detective Flack and Detective Messer raced out of the house as soon as their freedom was granted. The bright sunlight hit their faces, blinding them so much that they had to squeeze their eyes closed against the glare. The intense heat of the day swept over them and they felt their bodies thawing from the icy coldness of the house. They were running so fast they almost plummeted down the steps and were in the process of sprinting away when they both slammed into something hard and fell to the ground in a tangle of limbs.

"Ow!"

"Arrgh..."

"Get off me!"

"My face!"

"What the hell?"

"God!"

"Move!"

"My foot!"

"Fuck!"

"You idiot!"

"Let go!"

"That's me!"

"Shit!"

"Ouch!"

"Son of a bitch!"

"My knee!"

"Stop it!"

"Urgh!"

"Oof!"

"Help!"

"My sunburn!"

"My stings!"

Danny stopped struggling as two words echoed round his head and recalled some vague notion of earlier that day. Sunburn...stings... Adam and Hawkes! It was Adam and Hawkes! He opened his eyes and blinked against the bright light of the late afternoon. As they slowly adjusted to it he became aware that he was sat on the dusty ground in a tangle of limbs with three other men, each of them clutching a different part of their anatomy. He, himself, was cradling his knee to his chest, hands rubbing over it soothingly. Flack was huddled over, holding his foot between his hands while he blinked against the sunlight. Hawkes was steadily climbing to his feet, hands scratching over his face, no doubt making his stings far worse than better. Adam was sitting with his back against the Avalanche, wafting air towards his face with his hands, trying to cool it down, tears in his eyes.

"Hawkes! Adam!" Danny gasped in disbelief.

"What?" Flack gawped as he blinked his eyes open and stared at the two men, still trying to get used to the light. "Hawkes and Adam?"

"Yes, Hawkes and Adam!" Danny replied, his mouth slightly open.

"Are they real?" Flack whispered to him.

"I don't know. They look real."

"Hawkes and Adam," Flack repeated incredulously.

"Yes. Hawkes and Adam," Hawkes stated loudly, astonished at the strange behaviour of the two men.

"What's up with you guys? Why are you acting so strange?" Adam squeaked as he clambered to his feet and leant against the Avalanche.

"Mess, why do they have a car with them?" Flack choked as he stared at it in horror, still not convinced that Hawkes and Adam were at all real.

"I don't know, Flack," Danny replied as he slowly got to his feet, ignoring the protestations of his aching knee.

"I get it," Adam said, laughing nervously. "This one of those weird jokes you guys always have going on that no-one else ever gets, am I right?"

"Not one of those," groaned Hawkes as he eyed the two detectives suspiciously.

"I don't think they're real," Flack stated, still sat on the ground holding his foot.

"Why not?" asked Danny, turning to look at Flack.

"They don't look very real," Flack shrugged.

Danny turned back to the other men and glanced over them. "I agree," he finally said.

"We should leave before they try to eat us," Flack stated wisely as he started getting to his feet.

"You know, we can hear you," Hawkes interrupted, glancing at Adam in disbelief.

Danny and Flack both swallowed nervously and glanced at each other before Flack cursed rather loudly and fell back down to the ground. His foot was hurting too much to put any weight on it. So much for leaving before he was eaten again. Immediately the fake Hawkes was by his side and trying to examine his foot.

"Get away from me," squealed Flack as he scrambled backwards over the gravel using his arms and good foot to escape.

"Hold still, will you?" Hawkes said crossly and grabbed hold of Flack to stop him from escaping. The detective tried to fight back but no longer had the strength in him and relaxed limply into Hawkes' grip.

"There, now let me examine you," Hawkes said calmly.

"Oh no you don't!" came a cry from behind him and the next minute Danny had thrown himself on top of Hawkes and was wrestling him to the ground.

"Get off me!" shouted Hawkes breathlessly as he felt Danny sit on him.

"Guys, what is going on?" Adam asked as he stepped nearer but still kept a good deal of distance between himself and the three other men.

"You're going to eat us," Flack stated matter-of-factly.

"No offence, man, but I'd rather have a burger or a steak than your scrawny ass," Hawkes' voice grumbled from underneath Danny.

"Why would we eat you?" Adam asked in confusion.

"Oh I don't know...maybe because that's what everything else around here seems to want to do... perhaps I just taste nice," Flack muttered sarcastically.

"Danny, do you think you could get off me? I can't breathe," Hawkes' voice complained.

"Don't get off him, Mess," Flack quickly said.

"No can do, I'm afraid," Danny replied to Hawkes.

"Um, okay guys, haha very funny," Adam laughed apprehensively. "But we should really be going now."

"Yeah. Like I'm going anywhere with you," Flack snorted.

Adam looked at everyone nervously and then laughed again. "I never get your jokes," he frowned.

"Why are you sitting on me?" Hawkes' voice moaned.

"Because you're not really Hawkes and Adam is not really Adam," Danny replied logically.

"And the Avalanche is not the Avalanche because you can't get a car down here," Flack added.

"Course you can, just down the driveway," Adam said timidly, pointing to it.

Flack and Danny followed in the direction of his finger and stared in horror as the saw a clear driveway disappearing between the trees in the direction of the entrance. They stared at each other for a moment and then started to take in their surroundings. The house was just the same, in an identical state of dilapidation as when they had first come across it earlier that day. But the garden...the garden was a mess. It was in an absolutely abysmal state, grass so long that a lawnmower would no longer be able to cut it, weeds climbing out of the bedding, and further back that never ending barrage of undergrowth and trees could quite clearly be seen, gone were the rhododendrons. Flack's mouth dropped open as he stared in amazement at how rundown the garden was, looking round in a big circle until his eyes once more fell on the driveway. It was by no means neat or well cleared, but it was possible to drive along it, and that was the point.

"Mess..." he choked.

"Yeah?" Danny whispered back.

"How's this possible?" Flack asked.

"I dunno."

"I'm confused."

"Me too."

"It's the witch, she's playing tricks on us again," Flack murmured worriedly.

"I'm sorry, did you just say witch?" Hawkes' voice scoffed incredulously while Adam started sniggering.

Flack didn't reply, he was still too busy gawping at his surroundings.

"Flack, I think we might have made a mistake," Danny finally said, shifting his weight off the doctor and onto the ground next to him.

"Well it's about time," Hawkes grumbled as he rolled over and sat up. He was covered in dust from the ground.

"Sorry," Danny said embarrassedly, "we just had to check it was you."

"What do you mean, 'if it was me'? Of course it's me. You really think if someone was pretending to be me they'd give themselves wasp stings? Or give Adam sunburn?" Hawkes scoffed.

Danny blushed and looked over at Flack who was busy examining a weed that had grown up through the gravel next to where he was sat. He seemed captivated by whether it was real or not.

"What on Earth have you two been doing?" Hawkes asked.

"Ummm...we..." Danny looked round hopelessly at Flack who was still sat on the ground, holding his foot in one hand and the weed in another and just staring blankly out at the garden. Danny realised he was going to get no help from him. "We were investigating," he finally said.

"Investigating?" Hawkes frowned as he stood up and began dusting himself off. "Who?"

"Oh, right," Danny said, shaking his head and trying to order his thoughts in a cohesive manner. "Denzel Caudwell and his mom, Elizabeth. We've been questioning her inside."

He looked proudly over at Adam and Hawkes, rather pleased with himself that he'd remembered why they'd been at the house of horrors in the first place.

"Denzel and Elizabeth Caudwell?" Adam asked, swapping a look with Hawkes.

"Yeah?" Danny's smile faltered as he saw the look between the two men.

"Danny... Mac and Jo arrested the both of them hours ago back in the city. They were holed up in a motel, Elizabeth had a bank card which she used to pay for it and that's how we traced them."

"What?" Flack interrupted, finally taking note of the conversation, he looked rather faint.

"I'm sorry, you found Denzel and Elizabeth Caudwell?" Danny asked, completely baffled by what was going on.

"Yeah. They're both down in lock up now. I watched Mac and Jo questioning them and Denzel admitted murdering the victim and Elizabeth was trying to help him to escape," Hawkes informed them.

"They weren't the brightest," added Adam, laughing slightly.

Both detectives looked grave and Flack's face had gone eerily grey with this latest piece of news.

"I don't feel so great..." he finally moaned.

Hawkes was beside him in a second, examining his face and looking him over. "Will you let me take a look at you now?" he asked.

Flack nodded in response and Hawkes started busily examining him.

"So what happened to you?" asked Adam, looking over Danny and Flack. "Why's he only got one shoe on and covered in bites and why are you wearing that weird suit and have blood on your face?"

"Oh," Danny frowned. He suddenly realised just how ridiculous his story would sound now that Denzel and Elizabeth Caudwell had been caught and were safe in lockup. "Well... actually...we're okay really. We just...um...got into a spot of bother...but we're fine now... really."

"Fine? You look stupid," Adam muttered.

"Yeah, thanks for that, Adam," Danny said sarcastically. God, Flack was rubbing off on him.

"Do we need to send some unis out here?" asked Hawkes while he worked.

"Nah," Danny quickly said. "We, umm, just got a bit lost in that old house and I fell down and some wild animals attacked Flack. We...errr...yeah...we stumbled upon their den and they got pissed...so we, umm...we ran away...and that's why we were running out of the house when you arrived."

Hawkes paused and eyed him suspiciously, as did Adam. "So why did you say you were questioning the suspect?" the latter asked.

"Did I?" Danny feigned surprise. "You must have misunderstood, I just said we were supposed to, that's why we were here."

"You do realise you've been out of contact for nearly five hours?" Hawkes interrupted. "We tried calling, emailing but got no response. Mac was going crazy so Adam traced Flack's phone and we came to find out what was going on."

"Yeah...like I said, we got lost," mumbled Danny, not quite meeting his eye.

"But the witch..." Flack murmured from the ground and all three men looked at him.

"Ignore him, he's just tired," Danny quickly said, moving over to sit beside Flack and slapping him on the back. The detective jumped violently.

"So you spent five hours in a house no-one lives in anymore because you got lost?" Hawkes said incredulously.

"No-one lives here?" Danny frowned, ignoring the question. "Are you sure?"

"Yep," Adam nodded. "Not since Denzel's grandmother died."

"W...w...what?" Flack asked in a whisper.

"During the interrogation Mac asked Denzel why he didn't come up here and he started acting weird, said something ridiculous about the house being haunted or some such nonsense," Hawkes explained.

"Yeah...total nonsense," Danny nodded, his eyes wide in shock.

"He said after his father disappeared his grandma became a total recluse, never going out and then he heard she'd died and came up here with his mom but said the place was haunted. I mean, I know I said I believed in ghosts but some people are just thick," Hawkes laughed.

"His father disappeared?" Flack murmured, more to himself than anyone else.

"Yeah, it was weird. We had a mugshot of him from like forty years ago and he looked really like you, Danny."

"What?" squeaked Flack, staring wide-eyed between Danny and Hawkes.

"What was his name?" asked Danny faintly.

"Oh, Denzel. Yeah, he was Denzel Senior and the guy we've got down in lock-up is Denzel Junior."

"And Denzel Jr.'s mother is called Elizabeth?" asked Danny, trying desperately to understand what was going on.

"Yes and no. She was originally called Harriet Galenski but after she married Denzel Caudwell Sr., he forced her to change her name to Elizabeth to honour his mother. According to the pair in lock up, Denzel Sr. had this really weird relationship with his mother," Hawkes told them.

"So...let me get this straight," Danny stammered. "No-one lived in this house except the grandma, Elizabeth, who became a recluse after her son, Denzel, who looked like me, disappeared and then she died and no-one ever found the son?"

Adam and Hawkes frowned at him.

"Well yeah, but that's not really the case. It's Denzel Jr. who killed the girl and we caught him. I mean, his fingerprints were all over the crimescene and then we got a confession," Adam said.

"Not to mention his mother Elizabeth who tried to hide him from us," Hawkes added.

"Danno, I don't understand," Flack finally said, having listened to the explanations.

"Neither do I, Flack," Danny replied. "Neither do I."

"Anyway that's enough talking," Hawkes said taking charge. "You two need to get checked over at a hospital. Your foot looks infected and who knows about you," he said nodding first to Flack and then at Danny.

"I don't think I can walk," Flack stated sadly as he looked at his foot.

"I'll help you, buddy," Danny smiled cheerily.

"Thanks, Mess," Flack returned the smile.

"I don't think you're in any condition to do that," Hawkes said severely eyeing his fellow CSI.

"Hey!" Adam suddenly interrupted. All three men stared at him but Adam ignored them, his eyes focused on something over Flack's shoulder on the steps to the house. "I think you have a stalker."

Flack blinked up at him in fear and then slowly turned around, dread filling his stomach at what he might see. There, on the steps to the house was a small, fluffy, sandy-coloured bunny with the bluest eyes that they'd ever seen.

"Robert!" screamed Flack in delight and pushed himself backwards towards the bunny and reached out towards it. The sandy rabbit hopped down the steps towards him and bounced into his open arms where Flack sat cradling it happily against his chest.

"That dude so needs to get himself a girl," Hawkes muttered in disbelief while the other two nodded.

"More than you know," Danny replied knowingly.

"Come on Flack, let's get out of here, you need to see a doctor," Hawkes shouted as he went over to help up the lanky detective.

Adam placed a strong arm under Danny's and lifted him to his feet where he balanced on his slightly better leg.

"You guys better go in the Avalanche," Adam suggested. "One of us can take your car," he said to Flack.

Flack stopped petting the bunny and looked up. "What?"

"Adam if you take Flack's car, I'll drive these two to the hospital," Hawkes agreed.

"No-one is driving my car," Flack stated.

"Come on, Flack, you can't very well drive it now can you?" Danny moaned. He wanted to get out of there.

Flack frowned and looked down at his foot. "I'll be okay," he grumbled.

"No chance," Hawkes stated severely. "You'll go in the Avalanche with Danny and me and Adam will take your car back to the city.

"Fine," Flack muttered but he wasn't happy. He was only agreeing so they could all leave the house and get back home.

"Are you taking that rabbit with you?" asked Hawkes.

"Of course I'm taking Robert," Flack replied as if Hawkes was stupid.

"You can't just steal people's pets, Flack," Adam said timidly.

"I'm not, he's mine," Flack stated as he hobbled over to the car with Hawkes' help.

"Don't you have a dog?" asked Danny, staring at the rabbit.

"Nah, I gave her to a neighbour. Didn't really have the time to walk her," Flack stated.

"And you're gonna have time to look after a rabbit?" Danny asked.

Flack frowned again. "Maybe Lucy would like..."

"No way!" Danny shook his head. "There's no way in hell I'm cleaning out a rabbit cage, it would stink. That's on you, buddy."

Flack shrugged and started to climb into the Avalanche. "Fine," he said smiling.

"You can't take it with you to the hospital," Hawkes pointed out.

"I'll leave him in the car," Flack suggested.

"And have Mac kill you?" Danny replied.

"I could drop him off at your apartment on my way back to the lab?" suggested Adam.

Flack sighed and stroked a hand over Robert's back. "Fine," he grumped, reluctantly handing the rabbit over to Adam. "But take care of him!" Flack warned.

Adam exchanged a look with the other two men and they all smirked. Big, bad Detective Flack had fallen in love with a cuddly, little bunny rabbit.

* * *

Flack sat on a hospital bed dangling his legs over the side of it, his foot wrapped up tightly in a white bandage. All his bites were covered in some sort of nasty cream that made them sting and his hospital gown itched against them. The doctor had informed him that he'd cracked three ribs and that he'd have to take it easy for the next month or so if they were to heal correctly. The doctor had then examined his hand and forearm with great interest as they were still glowing green from the plant drool that had landed on them. He'd been unable to come up with an explanation for it and could only suggest that it would go away eventually by itself. Flack had grumbled that he'd look stupid with glowing green drool over his arm for the next however-long-it-would-be but there wasn't much he could do about it. He'd been waiting in the hospital now for well over an hour and had not seen Danny once since they'd been taken away to be examined. He was grumpy, tired and wanted to get back home and collapse into his bed and not wake up for at least three days. Mac had rung and ordered both he and Danny back to the lab for a briefing as soon as they were discharged so there was no hope of that. On the plus side, Adam had also rung and confirmed he'd got back to the city and that Robert was now safe in Flack's apartment. Flack looked up as he heard the curtain being drawn back and grinned as Danny hobbled in on crutches and wearing an identical hospital gown.

"These old things again," the CSI joked, plonking himself down on a nearby chair.

"Join the club," Flack muttered and rolled his eyes, nodding his head towards his own pair that were balanced against the end of the bed.

Danny giggled and then smiled happily. It was nice to be safe and back in the city, alive and well.

"So what'd they say to you?" he asked Flack.

"Three cracked ribs, none of my bites were poisonous but I gotta rub cream on them all three times a day to stop infection. How the hell I'm gonna manage that I don't know. And my foot got infected and is kinda gross, you should have seen all the pus that came out of it. It has to stay like this for the next six weeks. Hello desk duty, goodbye life," he grumped.

Danny chuckled at him. "Join the club. My knee won't be healed for a good six weeks either but the good news is that my head injury was superficial, no concussion and there was no sign of any snake poison in me."

"And the bird scratches?"

"They'll heal with time. Nothing too strenuous for the next few weeks though."

Flack nodded understandingly and sighed despondently at the thought of spending the next few weeks behind a desk. It was alright for Danny he could still get on with all that science stuff he loved so much but he, well, he had nothing to do but push papers round his desk.

"They give you any idea when we can get out of here?" Danny asked.

"Nope," Flack mumbled.

Danny nodded and looked around. Flack's cubicle was just as dull as his own had been.

"Did we imagine it all?" Flack finally asked after quite some time of silence.

Danny thought he looked worried. "I dunno...I mean, we can't have done...we've got the scars to prove it," he replied gesturing to their injuries.

Flack looked unconvinced about whether or not it was real. "But Hawkes said Mac caught Denzel Caudwell and his mom, Elizabeth. He said that the only people who lived in that house were the grandmother, also Elizabeth, who died and her son, Denzel Sr., who disappeared."

Danny fidgeted for a moment before voicing his concerns. "So you think we met the dead grandmother and the reason her son had disappeared was cos he died and she stuffed him or something?"

Flack shrugged and looked confused. "It sounds so stupid now we're back in the city, but what other explanation can there be?"

"So we're going with ghosts?" Danny asked incredulously.

"It sounds a hell of a lot better than a witch, an alive house, a stuffed son and a bunch of crazy plants and animals."

Danny nodded in agreement. "What about those stuffed people? You think they were real or we imagined them?"

Flack frowned as he thought about it. "I don't know. They could have been there from when Elizabeth Caudwell was alive. I'm gonna use my desk time to check out missing persons."

"Good idea," Danny nodded.

"What do we tell Mac though?" Flack asked worriedly.

"That we drove up to find the house, where there was no signal, but it took us ages cos we got lost. Then when we finally got there it took us ages to explore the house, I fell over, hurt my knee and had to change into some clothes I found cos I got wet. You got chased by a load of wild animals that attacked you and stole your shoe. Simple."

Flack stared at Danny in disbelief. "So basically we're blaming my driving?"

Danny rolled his eyes and smirked. "Shut up," he laughed.

"There's not a chance in hell he's going to believe us is there?" Flack asked seriously.

"Nope," Danny replied. He and Flack exchanged smiles.

"At least the killer was caught and the case is closed," Flack mused.

The two men sat in a comfortable, relaxed silence mulling over the day's events and if what they'd experienced had truly happened. If it wasn't for their injuries they'd both have thought they'd dreamt it. Maybe it had been a dream, maybe there had been a gas leak in the house and they'd imagined everything, hurting themselves in the process of being high on the gas. Whatever it was, the real tale that they remembered seemed ridiculous now they were back in the city.

"Flack?"

"Hmm?"

"We gonna talk about what happened back there?" Danny asked quietly.

Flack blinked and looked at Danny. The CSI was staring solemnly back at him and Flack knew exactly to what Danny was referring.

"I dunno, Mess," Flack shrugged as casually as he could.

"You gave up on me a bit back there," Danny said softly.

"Guess so," Flack muttered.

"You really wanted to die?"

"Not really. You were right, it was probably just all the emotion of what was going on..." Flack excused.

"Don..." Danny stated severely. "I'm your best friend, you can tell me anything."

Flack sighed and looked down at his hands. He began to fiddle with them nervously.

"I just miss her, that's all."

Danny nodded in sympathy. "I know you do. I still miss Louie. Linds still misses her girlfriends, Mac still misses Claire."

"I guess it's just normal then," Flack replied.

"You still think you deserve to die?" Danny asked carefully.

Flack blinked and smiled but he didn't look up. Danny eyed him cautiously, he didn't want to upset his already overwrought friend but he was still worried. He'd had no idea Flack had been feeling like this at all until today.

"I think I deserve some sort of retribution for killing a defenceless man," Flack murmured.

Danny swallowed and closed his eyes for a moment. He wasn't entirely sure what to say. He'd known about Flack killing Simon Cade from the moment he'd met him on the stairs just moments after it had happened. They'd never spoken of it, he'd got the impression Flack had never wanted to and if he was honest that had suited him just fine. He'd been busy with regaining the use of his legs and with Lucy growing up, and then the stuff with Shane Casey had happened. After that he was working towards his sergeant's exam and once he'd passed he barely saw Flack. After that it had seemed so far in the past that he'd never brought it up and neither had Flack.

"I would have done the same," Danny said quietly, watching Flack as he spoke.

"What?" Flack choked as he looked up at Danny.

"If someone killed Linds...or Luce. I'd kill them. No matter who they were. I know I would."

Flack smiled unconvincingly. "You don't know that, Danno."

"Yes I do," Danny said forcefully. "Without a doubt."

He stood and pulled up his crutches before hobbling over to Flack and standing in front of him.

"You will always be my brother, Flack. After my Ma, you're the closet thing I have to a relative."

Flack nodded and looked down but didn't speak. Danny had the impression he might be too overcome with emotion.

"And I will always be here for you, as I hope you would be for me?"

"Course I would," Flack said quietly.

"And you gotta problem, you tell me, okay? You lean on me, no matter what's going on in my life."

Flack nodded his head.

"You ever feel like what you said back in that house you come straight to me. Any time, any day, any place. You got that?"

Once again Flack nodded.

"Cos if you weren't around then who would be godfather to my son?"

Flack stared up at Danny, his eyes wide in surprise. "Son?" he choked.

"Yep," smiled Danny.

"And you want me..."

"There's no-one else I'd rather have."

Flack sniffed trying to blink away his tears and then he dropped his head once more, unable to say anything. He simply nodded his head in joy at what Danny had asked of him.

"I love you, Don," Danny said sincerely.

Flack looked up with tears in his eyes. "I love you too, Danno."

Danny couldn't do much on his crutches but he didn't need to. Flack wrapped his arms around the smaller man and hugged him close.

"Thank you," he murmured.

"Anytime, Flack," Danny replied.

"Hmmm..." Flack hummed.

"Hmmm?" Danny questioned.

"My bites hurt..."

"Well then let go, you idiot!" Danny laughed.

"Worth the pain," smiled Flack.

"Come on, bud," Danny replied, moving himself away from Flack so he wouldn't be touching his skin. "We gotta keep some degree of masculinity."

He hobbled back over to his chair and sat down, sighing happily. Things were once more right with the world.

Flack coughed.

"What's up?" Danny asked.

"Well I was just thinking..." Flack smiled.

"What about?"

"Oh... just then when you mentioned masculinity..."

"Yeah?"

"Well... about those extra few inches you said I had on you..."

Danny sighed in exasperation. Maybe things were once more right with the world, but he'd forgotten that meant Flack's usual wit was back in full force.

"I meant height!" he exclaimed.

"Whatever, Mess!" Flack giggled.

* * *

A/N - Just an epilogue left to go of about 2,000 words. But I am working on 3 other stories atm.


	10. Epilogue

A/N - So here it is, the conclusion. Thank you so much to everyone who has followed this story through to the end. I only meant it to be like 10,000 words and now it's closer to 40,000! So big thanks all!

* * *

Flack, Danny, Hawkes and Adam were all sat in the break room of the Crime Lab on a Wednesday evening in New York City. To anyone who dared enter the room for a coffee they were faced with four of the most rowdy and happy men known to mankind. Outside, the night air was humid and sticky but none of the four men could care less about the heat. It wasn't hot in the lab, of course, and it just so happened that two of them had had rather a strange experience that day to detract from any suffering due to the humidity.

All four of them burst out laughing again, tears in their eyes, and the remaining few lab techs in the breakroom scarpered away.

"So you really thought it was a witch?" laughed Hawkes in glee.

"It seemed the only reasonable explanation at the time," replied Danny, smiling.

Two hours ago he and Flack had been released from the hospital and Hawkes had driven them over to the lab for their briefing with Mac. Afterwards they'd hobbled into the breakroom, seeing Hawkes and Adam in there and joined them for a coffee. They were all due off duty in an hour and with the case closed and time to kill the two detectives had relented and told the others the whole story of what had happened to them from beginning to end.

"Well it does explain why you were acting so weird," mused Adam.

"It just seemed so real," Flack said in disbelief, shaking his head.

"Yeah, but a witch? Come off it," laughed Hawkes again. "You guys are such girls!"

"I'd like to see you tell that to my wife," Danny muttered and the others ginned at him. Lindsay was probably tougher than all four of them put together.

"So how many things have we got to add to the list now, Detective Flack?" asked Hawkes.

Flack scowled at him but resumed laughing after a moment. "You know what, I don't care. I don't care if I'm a girl cos weird houses and spiders freak me out..."

"Among other things," nodded Danny.

"And I don't care if what we saw today was really a weird dream, some sort of drug...whatever. I'm just glad to be alive and far, far away from the creepy-ass house!"

"Here, here," Danny agreed.

"And may I also add that I have three of the best friends a man could ask for here right now," Flack added, smiling round at the others.

"Aw, Flack, you've gone all soppy, man," Hawkes grinned but they all raised their coffees and toasted Flack's announcement.

"It's weird you guys are the detectives and yet you needed Hawkes and me to come rescue you," Adam laughed after a moment.

"Hey, don't you go spreading that around," Flack warned. "Cos I'll know it was you."

"And what you gonna do? Need me to rescue you again," giggled Adam.

Flack looked rather ticked off but couldn't really say much in response. It was true, Adam and Hawkes had rescued them.

"So you keeping the rabbit then, Flack?" Danny asked.

"Yep. Robert stays with me," Flack said definitely. "Providing you did take him to my place?" he asked Adam worriedly.

"I said I did and I did," Adam said defensively. "I left him on your couch."

"Pardon?" Flack said blinking up at him.

"I left him on your couch."

"You left him on my couch?"

Adam frowned. "Yes, I left him on your couch."

"You left him on my..."

"YES!" Danny and Hawkes laughed.

Flack scowled at them all. "You do realise my apartment will be a complete mess now, Adam?"

"Hey, don't go blaming Adam, you wanted the rabbit," Danny reminded him.

"And where else was I supposed to put him?" Adam grumbled.

Flack tilted his head in thought and then grinned. "You know what I don't even care!"

"Oh well, all's well that ends well I guess," mused Hawkes as he drained the last of his coffee.

"Still can't believe we really thought she was a witch," Danny laughed, shaking his head.

"It seems so absurd now," Flack agreed.

"It was your idea," Danny pointed out.

"And you went along with it," Flack retorted.

"You're very convincing when you want to be," Danny replied. "Guess that's what makes you a great detective."

"Aw, thanks, Mess. You think I'm a great detective?" grinned Flack.

"I sure do, bro," Danny replied and slapped Flack on the back.

The taller man grinned even more and blushed slightly at the compliment. Danny had his back, that, he was sure of. And nothing would ever come between them.

"So you really sure there must have been a gas leak then?" Adam asked, breaking into his thoughts.

"It's the only logical explanation," Hawkes nodded.

"Well, either that or an old lady did live there and she put something in the tea and then the rest was a dream," Danny mused.

"Either way, it didn't happen," Flack stated.

"Didn't happen," agreed Danny.

"Because witches don't exist," added Hawkes, still laughing at the two detectives.

"Neither do talking houses," chipped in Adam.

"Whatever alien-boy and ghost-doctor!" Flack retorted.

All four men chuckled light-heartedly in merriment.

"Hey, you know what I liked best about your story?" Adam finally said.

"What's that?" asked Danny.

"Adam Ross, the boss!" Adam grinned.

"I think you'll find that I'm the boss," a quiet voice said from behind him.

Adam jumped so high he almost flew out of his chair as Danny, Flack and Hawkes laughed hysterically while Mac raised an eyebrow in amusement at the timid lab-tech.

* * *

Sheldon Hawkes yawned tiredly as he unlocked the door to his apartment and stepped over the threshold. He paused by the door as something came to his nostrils, some scent. He frowned and shut the door, slipping off his shoes before padding down the corridor into his lounge. He smiled when he saw Camille sitting on the couch, looking stunning as ever.

"Hey," he smiled.

"Hey. Long day?"

"Like you wouldn't believe," he laughed.

He walked forward as she got up and they met in an embrace in the middle.

"Mmmm, I missed you," he whispered.

"I missed you too," she replied. "How're the stings?"

"Awful," Hawkes admitted honestly. "I've wanted to scratch them all day."

"Aww, my poor baby," she murmured and then pulled back, smiling. "Well I have a surprise for you."

"For me?" Hawkes raised his eyebrows.

"Yes," she grinned. She led him towards the bathroom and opened the door. It was lit with candles, a scented aroma filled the air and a nice, warm bath had been poured ready.

"Why don't you relax in here, soak your stings and then afterwards I can give you one of my massages?" she whispered huskily.

"Mmmm," Hawkes hummed. "What did I do to deserve you?"

"Oh nothing. But I will be expecting a better day off next time."

"Anything you want," Hawkes replied. "But I can think of one thing to make this better..."

"What's that?"

"How about you join me in there?" he asked suggestively, nodding at the bath.

"I thought you'd never ask," she smiled.

Hawkes grinned happily and leant in to kiss her.

He was a very happy man indeed.

* * *

Danny Messer hobbled up the last few steps on his crutches and let out a sigh of relief as he finally got to his floor. He proceeded down the corridor to his apartment, feeling miserable about spending another night alone, especially after what had happened today at the house. He'd rung Lindsay earlier from Flack's cell, explaining what had happened but she'd already finished work and was busy with Lucy when he'd phoned. He slotted the key into his lock and pushed open the door, grimacing at the smell of 'burnt' that invaded his nostrils. Then he frowned. It didn't smell like 'burnt' at all. He hobbled into the lounge and stared in awe, mouth dropped open in surprise as the smell of fresh paint almost intoxicated him. There, in his lounge, was his wife and daughter paintbrushes in hand, yellow, pink and blue smudges covering their faces and in their hair and the most beautifully painted wall he'd ever seen in his entire life behind them.

"Supwise!" yelled Lucy running towards her daddy and pausing before she ran into him.

"Dwady hurt?" she looked up at him worriedly.

"You can hug me here, Luce," Danny smiled, pulling her under one arm.

The little girl cuddled into his side and he stroked over her hair. Lindsay came forward and circled her arms round him, hugging him gently.

"Do you like it, Dwady?" asked a little voice from below them. "Mwomy let me stay up late to hwelp."

"I love it!" Danny said happily, looking over at the bright yellow wall covered with wonky blue and pink flowers.

"We used the paint we'd bought for the nursery," Lindsay murmured in his ear.

Danny snuggled closer to her, his two girls giving him support. "But I thought you were staying at Ma's?"

"I changed my mind," she replied.

"Why?" Danny asked.

"Because I love you."

Danny smiled happily. He was a very lucky man, and the happiest in the world.

* * *

Adam Ross pulled out his headphones as he unlocked his door and entered his home, slamming it closed behind him. He frowned immediately as he noticed a light on in his kitchen. He never left the lights on. He approached warily and peeked through the doorway, eyes widening in surprise at what he saw. His small kitchen table had been covered with a white cloth and laid for dinner. A candle was burning merrily in the centre and a rose was placed in a glass beside it. Pots and pans bubbled excitedly on the stove and a delicious aroma flooded his nose.

"Like what you see?" whispered a voice from behind him.

"Michelle?" Adam said in surprise.

"Expecting someone else?" she asked.

"No. But I...well, I thought you'd be kinda cross I left you in the restaurant," Adam said timidly.

Michelle smiled at him. "I was...but then I realised I shouldn't have laughed at you and wanted to apologise."

"So you did this?" Adam asked.

"I recreated a restaurant for us and cooked a nice dinner. It'll be just how it should've been last night."

Adam stared at her in wonderment. "You're amazing, you know that right?"

She hugged him tight and gave him a quick kiss.

"Dinner's ready," she murmured and then walked over to the stove.

Adam watched her in excitement. He'd never felt so happy in his life.

* * *

Don Flack felt exhausted as he rode up in the elevator to his floor and watched as the doors slid open. He hobbled down to his apartment and opened the door to let himself in. It was dark inside and he flicked on the light-switch as he closed the door. He groaned as his eyes glanced across his floor. The whole place was a mess, bits of paper and fluff everywhere but no bunny to be seen. He poked his head into the kitchen, the cupboards were open and bits of cereal and other food was spilt across the floor. In the lounge his magazines had been shredded and what looked very much like a nest had been built in one corner of his couch. Flack checked inside but there was no rabbit in it. He sighed and turned to the bedroom, hobbling over towards it on his crutches. He frowned as he saw a light flickering from it and noticed the TV was on. The remote lay on the end of the bed and Flack realised the rabbit must have hopped on it. He flicked on the light and shook his head in exasperation at the mess. His shoes had been pulled out of the wardrobe and strewn about the place and a few of his clothes had joined the mess on the floor too. In the middle of his bed, resting against his pillow and snuggled in the covers was the sandy bunny with the bright blue eyes. Flack grinned despite himself.

"Robert, look at the mess you've made," he scolded jokingly. "I'm gonna have to clean this up!"

The sandy bunny blinked up at him and squeaked. "Well it's about time you got home, young man. Your apartment is so dull!"

It had all been real...

Flack promptly fainted on the spot.

* * *

A/N - And that's it. Hope that was all okay!

My next story will be up soon and I'm trying something a bit different. What's the point in not experimenting I ask myself. It revolves around a Mac/Don relationship, Danny/Lindsay relationship and a Mac/Danny father-son relationship, although everyone else is in it too . It deals with main character death and the consequences of that. So it will be M rated as quite dark, full of angst and the death scene is quite graphic and upsetting.

And if that's not your cup of tea (I don't blame you!) my fic after that will once again be a Danny/Don friendship story except this time something comes between them and may well break up the bromance forever!


End file.
